For the Sky
by QAE
Summary: With the arrival of Fon and a strange little girl (who has the power to decimate cities in a matter of seconds), the existence of the Tri-ni-set eventually comes to light, the anchors of the universe are put to use, and the sky begins its crushing, burdening, maddening descent to the ground. Tsuna never knew until now just how much he took the world for granted.
1. Chapter I

**Warning(s):** AU, OC-centric, violence, language, (and will forever be) GEN

**Alternate Summary:** When the forgotten girl takes her first step into a new world and finds nothing and no-one but strange things and strangers, she refuses to lose hope. The power of the Tri-ni-set is beyond measure, after all. And exactly that is proven when she comes across Fon, the calm before the storm, a child with a pacifier dangling around his neck - a pacifier that she has _never seen_ before in her _life_ but still, somehow, recognizes. She figures that, if she tails the wind for a while, it might carry to the sky - where she might finally, finally receive some answers that have long been overdue.

**Author's Note:** My first fanfic. I'm not quite sure what's possessing me at the moment.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_.

* * *

The cacophony of the street is only a faint sound in his ears, high up as he is on the rooftop of a several-decimal-story building - having climbed up there via the shorter restaurants conveniently aligned like a staircase. He pauses for a brief moment at the very edge, collar fluttering in the breeze, looking down at the bustle of black heads making their way across the street while the stoplight flashes red and cars hum their impatience.

He closes his eyes, embracing the sun's warmth; a rare thing in most Chinese cities, which are usually shrouded in a dreary, murky haze that clogs his lungs and makes him want to retreat to trees and serenity and solitude.

The sky is brilliantly blue today, and the breeze has picked up salt and sea. Fon basks in it.

Not for long, of course. He does like to meditate, but right now he has a job to do, and it's not one of his habits to slack off during missions. Especially since, according to the boss, some of the other Triad members have been tracking his targets for possibly two months now without much luck at all.

Fon is courteous enough not to think that some people in the Triads are rather incompetent.

When he returns from a second of peaceful near-oblivion, his eyes immediately zero in on the figure of a girl on the opposite end of the street, padding the rooftop tiles of a hotel. They're near the sea; if she notices him (and she probably doesn't, considering his size), she has no eyes for him. Her body is turned toward the ocean, and he logically concludes that she is admiring the view.

Even from far away, he can notice the strange blue mask covering her face.

The martial artist sighs to himself. Hopefully, she won't fall and get hurt. Children are far too reckless these days.

As he leaps away, long braid fluttering behind him, he wonders if he really has the right to think that.

* * *

It's easy to forget that some places exist unless they're occupied. Alleys so thin you have to turn sideways to get through (depending on your weight, actually), corners paved with black stones and surrounded by starry window glass. Apartments, houses, stores, company buildings, brothels - abandoned, unwanted, empty, lost, forgotten.

They'll be torn down, one day, to create space for skyscrapers - since, eventually, someone comes along and remembers them, but only because they want something bigger and better in place of it. Fon never really thinks much about architecture, spending more time out in the wilderness or traversing the mountains, but he occasionally feels a little bit of nostalgia when he comes across an area that used to be _alive_ some-ten-twenty-thirty years ago. Its corpse will be buried under a new era.

Do all mafioso come up with such dark analogies?

He doesn't think those thoughts often, though, only when it's raining or the smog is incredibly thick as he traverses the slums. Right now, as he kneels in the crevice of a rotting window frame, all he is looking for is movement. His targets are rather like pests, in that they seem to show up when he's not there and never show up when he is. And it's always a coincidence, because he honestly doubts that any of them are at a good enough level to sense his presence.

To be honest, nobody has hid from him this long before. It's only been a week, but even so - he likes to think that he's quite good at the finding part of missions like this. Not as good as Reborn, obviously, but better than average.

Footsteps resound on the crackling pavement. With a graceful, deadly swiftness that his reputation is built off of, he flashes from his perch and around the corner (he's not called the fastest Arcobaleno for nothing).

All he finds is a little girl teetering on the pinnacle of another roof, walking as easy as she would on even ground along the ominously-creaking wood. Watching speculatively, Fon notices the green dragon mask tied around her face with white thread and the nonchalance in her movements, standing about forty feet away from a broken neck, and realizes - after some quick reliving of memory - that he's _probably_ seen her sometime before in some unimportant place.

The next thing he realizes (or remembers from about two seconds previously) is that she's _standing_ about _forty feet away from a broken neck_. More importantly - or less importantly, depending on how you look at it - she's _standing_ and _not_ walking. Gazing at her mask, he gets the sudden feeling that she's staring right at him.

Fon is immediately suspicious. He does well to hide it as he hops up into plain sight, landing on the edge of an adjacent building. This is a child, but his many years of experience scream at him to not underestimate her - or anybody, for that matter.

There is a brief moment of silence in which both of them study each other. Deducing that there's no one else within earshot or eyesight (how curious), Fon decides to go with a placid smile. "Good morning," he greets.

_Why not? She certainly doesn't feel like an enemy. She has no killer intent, and she definitely wasn't part of the description of the people I have to track._

_That still doesn't explain why she could pinpoint you so quickly_, the logical part of his brain snaps right back, attempting to quarrel with the other.

The girl's tone of voice is not entirely welcome, but not entirely negative, either. "Good morning," she replies, tilting her head a little. Fon notices that her hair isn't black, but an unusual shade of grey. "Is it morning?"

Her voice is burdened with quite a number of accents, all blended together to form a unique sound for each syllable. A little of his apprehension decreases - the targets he's been assigned to are definitely Chinese, and only Chinese.

"Yes," he says between his thoughts, light and amicable. "It should be around eleven o' clock right now."

She lets out something between a huff and a laugh. "Ah, that is no good. I am very hungry, but it is not noon." To his mild surprise, she takes on a contemplative pose and looks back to the towering buildings of city's high-rises. "Maybe I will get candy from store. It has...open soon, I think?"

She turns back to Fon, and the dragon seems to blink. "I'm sorry. My Cantonese...is not good, do you see. I am alien to China."

He allows a soft smile to curl his lips, amused by the 'alien' remark. "It's alright," he says sportively. "I can still understand you. How long have you been learning?"

"It has been...two months since I began." She seems to brighten. "I like language. I learn very, very fast, and it is fun."

"Only a couple of months? That's very impressive," Fon says - and he means it. The girl - she can't be more than eight or nine - must have worked very hard, seeing as Cantonese is certainly not an easy language to get used to for foreigners (compared to, say, English or Spanish). His mind turns to other matters, and he changes the subject. "Are you alright? You're very high up, you should be careful."

Although he can't directly see her face, the martial artist gets the sense that she's smiling at him. "I am fine here," she assures him. "I have perfect sense of...equal weight. I climb rooftops when I am free, and I am often free, so it is very easy. Besides," and she stops and tilts her head a little towards him, looking like she's half-way into a bow but _definitely_ motioning in his direction.

Fon lets out a chuckle. His question _was_ rather hypocritical.

Brushing the dragon's forehead, the girl takes a few steps back, preparing to leave. "I will go get candy now," she declares dramatically. "I must go. It is very important. It was very nice to meet you, Mr..." Here, she pauses, almost floundering.

"Fon," the Arcobaleno offers. "My name is Fon."

The dragon doesn't seem to react or recognize the name. "Okay, Mr. Fon." She gives him a little wave, a fluttering of a hand, and turns to leave.

However, he still has one question left. "Excuse me," he asks, watching the little girl pause. "but how did you know where I was before I came out so you could see me clearly?" Hopefully, he has phrased it so she can understand the question.

For a long minute, the girl doesn't even move. Fon is hardly sure she's even breathing.

Then, she says, "I saw you in the windows. They are dirty, but they are like mirrors. I saw your hair go by. You are very good at hide-and-seek."

"...I see," he murmurs softly, processing the information. It certainly makes sense. However, that doesn't change the fact that the girl has an uncanny sense of sight, or quick reflexes.

That, or he is simply getting slower. He wonders if it would be arrogant of him to immediately dismiss the thought.

"Goodbye, Mr. Fon."

As he echoes the salutation and leaps off, he notices - a passing thought - that, while preoccupied by the nagging questions in his mind, he never really asked her for her name.

* * *

The next time the Storm Arcobaleno catches sight of her, the unknown girl who likes to wander around rooftops, it is only the corner of his eye.

She is crossing the street, ash-grey hair tied back in a bun and donning a serpent mask with scarlet whiskers. The haze isn't quite thick enough to choke on, but a small hand still covers up the serpent's nostrils as if she can't bear to breathe in - although that may have to do with the fact that she is surrounded by dozens of businessmen and women crossing with her, in front of two roaring trucks that are probably _bleeding_ exhaust.

Before Fon's attention can catch onto her fully, she reaches the sidewalk, turns, and disappears behind a fire extinguisher and a crowd of teenagers.

* * *

After two weeks, he finds them.

Unfortunately, the only reason he finds them is because they decide to, essentially, sneak into a nearby hotel without even bothering to cover their tracks.

He senses the thick splatter of blood before the knife even falls, and he dives through the window (which they had opened to get in) to deliver a swift kick to the temple of the murderer before leaning back against the sudden flare of Lightning flames - but that doesn't change the fact that one of the people boarded in the hotel is now just a husk of a man painting the wall red where he is pinned.

He hates the few, rare times when he is simply too late to do anything for the one thing he has failed.

(perhaps that is what has fueled him, after all these years - to be faster than anything and anybody so he would never have to be or hear or see _too late_)

An unnatural thread of wind blows his braid forward. With the prowess of an experienced assassin and _not anything_ like his appearance, he flips backward and lands hard on his attacker's next, snapping it sideways. Before the body can fall, the air is already stirring with an Exploding Lotus Kempo that shoots forth and destroys another man's face to shreds.

In the seven seconds in which all of this takes place, Fon is unnaturally amused because the only sound he's heard so far is the soft, near silent "Oh, _shit_ -" coming from the Rain-flame user in the back.

But he doesn't stop to dwell on it, and instead dashes forward to finish that one off, too. They barely even have time to draw out their flames.

As he finally pauses, his back to the window, the martial-artist-sometimes-hitman looks down at his work - littered across the floor - and takes a moment to breathe. Hardly any noise was made - he made sure of that - so nobody would probably be coming in until morning. Briefly, his eyes flickered across the one true victim in the room, before returning to his now-dead targets. The only thing left to do now would be taking care of the bodies he took down, which -

The air bends and stirs. The wind reacts accordingly.

A single bullet lands with a 'paf', embedding itself into the carpet on the spot where his body used to be. His eyes narrowed in a rare moment of faint exasperation because _seriously, they didn't think he could dodge that?_

Oh, _wait_. In a split-second, he recounts the bodies. There are only eight, isn't there supposed to be _nine_ -

The next thing he knows, the left side of the window panel is exploding in a shower of glass, and he twists around to dodge the arrays of bullets showering the room. He sighs, because it really is loud this time, and the hotel will most likely wake up in the middle of night to an extremely unpleasant surprise.

His targets have probably realized that he can easily evade a single shot, and have switched to an alternative method. How unpleasant.

He rushes to the smaller window next to the TV, breaks the lock, slides it open, and hops out. A cool, night breeze blows at his face, and he is momentarily surprised by the sudden weight appearing on top of his head.

Two familiar scabbed hands scrabble against his black locks as Lichi pulls himself up.

"You run off for eight days during one of your centennial sulking sessions, knowing that I may or may not need you during this mission, and you choose to show up now at this rather inconvenient moment?" Fon asks, gently, but not without a hint of incredulity and a touch of admonishment.

Lichi makes a strangled sort-of-apologetic noise. With a sigh, the monkey's master accepts it (he really can't do much else) and begins leaping down the building from windowsill to windowsill, a second in front of the bullets that continue to pepper the surface he last landed on.

And then, abruptly, they stop.

Fon wastes no time in disappearing in the shadows the moment he hits solid pavement, eyes searching the rooftops for the source of the gunshots. However, a frigid silence descends upon the street - giving nothing of his enemy's whereabouts, nothing to disturb the air, nothing for him to feel and work with.

A wisp of red flame lights the horizon. It's abrupt and has already mostly faded away by the time he turns around, but it's still present enough for him to see which building it came from.

When he lands on the railing of said building, he's not quite sure what he was expecting.

What he does see is a familiar girl wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts, wisps of grey hair framing a rounded face that is for once uncovered. She stares straight ahead into the city lights, and her eyes are a bright, brilliant scarlet that literally _glows_ with a faint, blooming light.

The first thing that comes to mind is blood, and the color of the purest Storm flames.

She turns halfway towards him, allowing his eyes to land on the QBB-95 - or what's left of it - scattered across the ground in pieces of jagged metal. Before he can fully determine whether the child is an enemy or a not-enemy (he leans to the former), the glow in her eyes fades away, and a small smile - not much more than a curve of her lips - crosses her face. "Mr. Fon," she says. "It is nice to see you well."

After a brief moment of hesitation, he dips his head in greeting. However, he keeps his guard up. "What happened to the person who shot the gun?"

"He is dead. I used flames. He turned to ash and scatters." She tilts her head to the side, a repetitive gesture of hers. "I'm sorry. Did you need a body to be...paid?"

"No, it's fine. The hits were enough," Fon replies, although inwardly, he is still wrapping his head around the fact that this innocent child can decimate a body with such a high concentration of flames that it can be reduced to nothing in a matter of seconds.

It doesn't seem all that possible. He's tempted to call her out on lying, albeit in a polite manner.

Then, the girl kneels down and a flicker of fire escapes her hands, and it's not like any Storm flame Fon has seen before. It only burns a single shade of color, the same as her eyes, unlike his own flames mixed with light yellow, white, and pink. The Arcobaleno watches with no small amount of astonishment as her fire dances around the broken parts of the machine gun, hiding them in tongues of red heat.

When they recede, the metal is just _gone_. He can't even see a trace of a burn on the concrete.

Fon re-calibrates his thoughts. Perhaps it _is_ possible, although still hard to believe simply because of the abnormality of it. _Of the girl's power, specifically._

As the girl's face turns toward him again, eyes flaring scarlet, the martial artist takes a courageous step forward (of course, not much distance is crossed in his infant body, but it really doesn't matter because the action is still made and the feeling behind it is quite clear to both of them). "Who are you?" he asks, firstly. He makes sure to keep his tone civil, a serene expression held determinedly on his face.

Mildly, the little girl folds herself into a cross-legged position, hands grabbing her ankles. She looks immensely carefree despite the tense air around them. "I call me Tianshi. It means 'angel', but you do know this."

A fake name, most likely, but once again - Fon really can't talk. "Well, Tianshi," he says. "Thank you very much for killing that man. Why did you help me?"

She gives him a sort-of-skeptical stare as her eyes bleed into a regular shade of brown, like she's surprised he can't answer that himself. "He was shooting you. It is not very nice. You did not need help, I think? But I helped anyway, because you are nice and it is less work you will do."

He's hard-pressed in hiding his surprise. Her voice is open and genuine, but people like her - even children of her age - rarely take time to help another person for such a simple manner, especially when there are guns and blood involved.

A distant scream pierces the air, coming in the direction of the hotel.

"And," She pauses to give the same minuscule smile. "He stops you from cleaning up the dead men. That is not good too."

Fon can't help but raise an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Humans don't like to see dead men." She waves a hand vaguely in the air. "Cleaning up bodies is like recycling. It is good for...health of people's minds."

With a deep sigh, he clears his mind for a moment and pushes aside the feeling of utter amusement that sprang up in their conversation.

When he opens the eyes that he had inadvertently closed, the girl - Tianshi - has pulled out a mask from who-knows-where, this time a white fox with black and gold eye markings. She snaps it onto her face with a small, quiet breath, as if taking comfort in it.

"It's a very nice mask," he can't keep himself from saying.

She tilts her head again, voice slightly muffled through the plastic. "Thank you." And that's all there is.

Rising to her feet, Tianshi looks over to the hotel, where nearly half of the room lights and the lobby are on. "I should go. They might see me and try to track me. They will fail, but I do not want them to cause trouble." She says it so openly that it doesn't even come across as conceited.

Fon tilts his head back in order to continue meeting her gaze. "They will see you from this far away?"

"Maybe," she says with a shrug. "Humans gets more safe-wanting each year. They put glass eyes in many stores I visit, so people will not try to steal. I think it is very smart and dumb both." She huffs. "I will go now, and you will go report end of job, I think?"

Fon nods and says, "I will. Are you part of a Famiglia, by any chance?"

Tianshi stills. "No." Her voice takes on an edge that he can't quite interpret. "I am not mafioso."

Immediately, he picks up the fluency of the word 'mafioso'; it flows through the fox's mouth like a river, easy and eloquent, a startling contrast compared to her awkwardly-assembled Cantonese. Perhaps Italian is her native language.

He thinks of interrogating further, since he's still curious as to how she can use Storm flames without being in the mafia, but Tianshi is already turning away, clearly sensing the question he is readying on his tongue. A split-second of hesitance, and Fon lets her go; he has no desire to probe her with questions that will make her uncomfortable, and she wouldn't deserve that, anyway.

And there's something in her voice that makes her seem several years older than she looks, more like an adult, and a bit wearier, that adds more reason to silently assent to back off. It's really not any of his business.

"Good bye, Mr. Fon," Tianshi is saying, her back already towards him and the words being tossed over her shoulder.

The Arcobaleno dips his head. "Good bye, Tianshi. Should we ever meet again," he adds. "Know that I will be in your debt."

Her voice is blunt with refusal - "I will not need it," - but for some reason, a shade lighter and happier than before. "But it is kind to say."

Fon watches as the mysterious girl walks over to the south railing, vaults over it, and seemingly-free-falls a dozen stories downward to collide with the sidewalk of the alley on the other side. And yet, when he himself jumps up on the railing to look down at her, he's not _too_ surprised to see her safe and sound and already walking away from the mess of targets and mafia groups and infant assassins.

A while later, he notices that the weight on top of his head is gone, and that Lichi is missing again.

* * *

"Good morning."

Exhaling, Fon drops out of his meditation session and opens his eyes; the first thing he sees is the sky, clouded white. He turns and sees Tianshi, the upper portion of her face covered in a tiger mask, simply dressed and burying her bare feet into the moss of the forest clearing. She tilts her head and nurses a steaming bowl in her hands.

"Mr. Fon," she chirps. "I'm sorry. Have I bothered you?"

He smiles at her, but doesn't make a move to stand. She takes it as an invitation to sit down with him. "Good morning, Tianshi - its fine. Why have you come here?"

She takes a sip from her bowl - miso soup, he notices - and spares a few moments of silence before replying. "Do you have a monkey?"

Fon stiffens, just as a familiar heart-shaped face pops out from behind the girl's neck. Lichi chitters at him and quickly leaps down to land roughly on the Arcobaleno's head. He tilts his head up to stare at him, bewildered, watching his animal partner's eyes dilate into a completely-totally-I-am-innocent expression. He closes his own eyes to avoid it.

"He comes to me in store, after I helped you," Tianshi says cheerfully. "And I am - was - surprised to see him again."

His eyes open. "Again?"

She nods. "I meet him two times. He likes mandou. Does he run away very much?"

"Sometimes," he says. "When he is angry at me. About two weeks ago, he…" He chuckles to himself. "...he saw a female at the zoo and tried to court her. When he was...refused, I told him he should have learned his lesson by now - which must have made him grumpy, because he ran off and didn't answer my calls. How did you find him?"

"Subway station. He looked lost. I took him to store and we ate lunch. He stayed, went away, then comes back." The smile in her voice is a little wider than before. "Silly monkey. You call him Lichi?"

Fon nods and shoots a look of wry amusement as Lichi trills and yawns, splaying his arms across the Arcobaleno's forehead. "Finally gotten over the rejection, I see?"

Lichi pouts and sticks his tongue out. Tianshi laughs.

And Fon is startled by the sound, because it is a child's laugh - pealing and playful - but so weak and feeble-sounding that it seems to end before it can truly begin. There's an undercurrent of _age_ in there, too, and maybe pieces of nostalgia and ruefulness mixed in.

Fon never trained to pick up the emotions in other people, but for some reason, Tianshi's expressions - even with her masks - are almost ridiculously easy to read.

They are also quite confusing.

"You are like," she says softly, carefully. "You are like a famiglia. A very small one, two of you, but still I can see."

Even Lichi cocks his head at this, blinking owlishly. She shakes her head and murmurs something under her breath, something that sounds suspiciously like "_non importa_" before moving to stand. "I came to bring Lichi back to owner, and now I will be leaving Dalian."

"Leaving?" Fon repeats, rising with her.

The tiger dips its head. "I am...world traveler. I go many places, to see new. Nomad, you would say?"

Before he can reply, Lichi screeches - a harsh, splitting sound - and launches himself back at Tianshi, latching onto the sleeve of her shirt and clutching onto the fabric like a lifeline. Both of them are taken aback, although the martial artist recovers fast enough to notice the spitting, hissing, hateful _disapproval_ twisting his animal companion's face.

Fon doesn't think he's ever seen Lichi look like that. He can't quite quash the uprising of alarm and disquiet rearing in his head.

"_Scimmi_ - Lichi?" Tianshi's voice is more monotonous than most people, so the otherwise-subtle note of confusion is easy to hear in his ears.

To further her confusion (and his own), Lichi clambers upward to crouch down on her head. Hissing slightly, the monkey hugs her bun in a vice-like grip.

If her hair is being uncomfortably pulled at, Tianshi doesn't wince - nor does she move at all, really. "Lichi?" she asks again. "Lichi, what is...what do you want?"

Lichi twitches and looks at Fon. The monkey looks...torn between both of them, an undeniable hint of longing in the gaze he directs at both of them, eyes darting wildly between the two Storm wielders.

For an animal who usually gives nothing away other than small, cheeky smiles and round, mischievous eye-bats, as he sits on Tianshi's head and looks down at Fon's, Lichi looks surprisingly _emotionally distressed_.

He isn't quite sure what to make of it. In the span of less than a month, the strange little girl has unintentionally won over the animal partner who is supposed to be always, undeniably, solely loyal to his Arcobaleno master.

What he does know, however, is that he feels somewhat _betrayed_ - and now ten times more curious than before.

"I think," he says slowly, picking out his words as if he's plucking blueberries from a bush. "Lichi is having trouble choosing which one of us he wants to stay with."

The tiger snaps back to pin him with a stare. "_No._"

Then, Fon notices the way Lichi is tugging at Tianshi's hair and pulling the bun in his direction, and _sees._

"He wants to stay with both of us."

But Tianshi continues on, without pause, to say, "But I can't. I have already told you that I travel."

"We do to."

Fon is only half-aware of the words slipping from his lips, and suddenly finds himself under the tiger's scrutiny. "I don't like staying in one place for long," he elaborates. "and Lichi is the one who accompanies me. It is quite a coincidence that we are both...nomadic, wouldn't you say?"

"I..." The tiger peers at him with dark, gaping holes for eyes. Fon has the uncharacteristic urge to fidget. "You are okay with what Lichi wants?"

He is tempted to give a whimsical shrug. "I would not be opposed to it. Lichi has good judgement, and he rarely asks for anything from me that he doesn't feel strongly about."

Lichi looks considerably smug. If he were violent-prone, Fon would feel like delivering a good clout to the monkey's ear.

"Unless," he adds. "You would prefer to travel alone?"

"No." Tianshi hesitates. "I do not like being alone."

(idly, Fon wonders if there is a story behind the deepness in her voice)

"I just do not think you trust me so much, you see. I am alien to you."

"You saved my life during my mission," he points out.

She tilts her head. "That was not saving life. You would be live even if I was not there. But," she shakes her hand in the air like she's brushing off her own words. "Now I am only make excuses for nothing good. Where will you go after you leave Dalian?"

"North, I think. To Anshan, and then Shenyang. I haven't been there in quite a while." Fon studies her. "Will that be a problem?"

"If I go with you? No. I do not know that places." She sighs, but it's more of an exhale than anything else. "Are you sure?"

"...Well, Lichi would like the company," Fon offers. "And I haven't traveled with anyone for almost a year. You don't have to if you don't want to." He drops his voice. "Nor do you have to feel pressured. It's your choice."

Tianshi falls silent and downs her soup, the steam rising to wreath the air as she gulps it down. The trees, dashed with silvery leaves, sway in the background. When she looks down again, Fon returns her gaze patiently.

"I will come. When do you leave?"


	2. Chapter II

**Warning(s):** AU, OC-centric, violence, language, (and will forever be) GEN

**Alternate Summary:** When the forgotten girl takes her first step into a new world and finds nothing and no-one but strange things and strangers, she refuses to lose hope. The power of the Tri-ni-set is beyond measure, after all. And exactly that is proven when she comes across Fon, the calm before the storm, a child with a pacifier dangling around his neck - a pacifier that she has never seen before in her life but still, somehow, recognizes. She figures that, if she tails the wind for a while, it might carry to the sky - where she might finally, finally receive some answers that have long been overdue.

**Author's Note:** My chapters have a tendency of remaining at a constant word count of around 5000. The next one will include Fon and Tianshi's arrival in Japan - this fic will be moving rather quickly in the beginning and will probably slow down in the later arcs, depending on how this goes.

Also, I know nothing about China. I kept things vague.

I also have no idea how Fon and I-Pin keep in contact when both of them move around a lot. Letters seem so old now anyway - compared to email, at least.

As always, reviews, favorites, and follows are all appreciated! Along with the criticism, of course.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_.

* * *

**Day I**

Fon pauses and turns around, realizing that his new partner has stopped in mid-step. They are at the top of a hill, charmed with wildflowers, that overlooks the city, a mere cluster of lines and monochromatic shapes. Tianshi is glancing back, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, at the faint construction fumes and the vibrant city lights and the _togetherness_ of civilization.

"Having second thoughts?" he asks lightly.

The fox on her face gives a minute shake of the head. "No. I was just think that...even if you did not ask, I would travel with you."

The Arcobaleno narrows his eyes; he can admit to some interest and curiosity. "Follow me, you mean?"

"No. Follow is to be behind." She gives one last long, measured look at Dalian, as if savoring the image, before walking into the depths of the forest. "Not like this, when we are...at side of each other. There is a change."

After a brief moment (he can't quite comprehend her meaning but takes it in stride), Fon follows her. He hums in acknowledgement. "And why would you travel with me, may I ask?"

She huffs - and that is one of the things he is slowly becoming accustomed to, her half-of-a-half-of-laughs that aren't anything more than puffs of breath but still manage to express her humor, if the tone in her voice doesn't manage to do the same. "You are a baby who kills as _mafioso_ and has hair grow too long for age of two or three, has a monkey, and do not carry anything like a bag for survival things. I do not understand how it works."

His lips twitch. "The way I store my possessions? That is the one of the things you are most curious about?"

"Well, no," Tianshi says as she stares at him. "But I can't see it make sense. I will find out."

"Unless," she tacks on. "It is something strange and not something good, like Lichi eats them all and spits them out when you need them."

He admits to being startled. "What would give you that idea?"

He doesn't quite understand the look she gives him, but maybe that's because the fox doesn't have the ability to change facial expressions.

* * *

**Day III**

"Tianshi? What are you - oh."

Lichi chitters and leaps down, scampering over to Tianshi's side as she kneels next to the pool. The water is an obscure, murky emerald, covered in twigs and moss and the droppings of trees, but the surface ripples occasionally to life. Minuscule black fish dart in and out of the open between buried plants and mottled rocks, shimmering like white sword-tips as the sun hits their backs and fins.

Tianshi dips her hands into the pool, watching them flee. Fon observes from a few feet away as she flicks the water droplets off of her hands towards Lichi, who promptly responds by slapping his tail into the water and whipping her wrist with it.

"Careful, Lichi," he calls when the monkey wobbles dangerously at the pond's edge. He lets out a helpless chuckle when Tianshi nudges his animal into the water with a finger, then puts on a semi-apologetic cast (which is to say, not at all, with a mask on) when Lichi emerges, spluttering unhappily.

His smile drops when Lichi returns to his post and simultaneously dampening his own hair, and he sighs because _I really should have seen that coming, shouldn't I?_

"Don't sulk," Tianshi says as she hoists herself up, shaking droplets from her toes. "You are fast and could have dodge. But Lichi would not like that."

Fon blinks and, after a second, smiles wryly. "You make it sound as if I spoil him." Lichi's body trembles on his head and, if he didn't know any better, he would think that the monkey is laughing.

The martial artist takes a quick double-take at his animal partner - who is, indeed, cackling (silently) like a madman - and sighs in something like mildly fond exasperation.

He turns to Tianshi. "Would you like to stop for lunch? The sun is high enough."

Some-fifteen minutes later, while a red monotone fire crackles beneath the fish they had caught, slowly bronzing them (Tianshi has excellent reflexes, just as good as his; catching their meal in the nearby river hadn't been much of a problem), the three of them rest in lax positions along the ground. Fon lowers himself to meditate, but instead finds himself peering at the girl and the monkey next to the fire, the girl stroking the monkey's head and the animal sprawled against a short log.

"Where have you gone so far in your travels?" he asks her.

She tilts her head. "So far, I have been...first, Italy. Then, I go to Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and there I fly a plane to Beijing, here."

There is a brief lull of silence in which he digests this information and she returns to caressing Lichi into a state of only half-consciousness. He doubts that the monkey even knows just how much he has warmed up to the other in the brief time they have shared.

"And you have traveled very many other places, I think?" Tianshi asks after a while.

He smiles easily. "Yes, very many. My job has called for it quite a few times. Have you already heard of the Chinese Triads?"

"They are mafia group from China. Very large, very quiet." She gently scratches behind Lichi's ear. "I know mafia, but I do not know very many about _famiglie_."

Fon frowns a little. "...I am sorry if I sound intrusive, interrogating you in this way, but how are you affiliated with the mafia?"

Her frog mask levels him a long, patient stare. "I do not understand the first words of that. But," she continues before he can speak. "I think I guess good enough. You do not need to think of...not asking, because I do not mind answering very much. If I do not like questions, I do not answer questions. Some people dodge asking and answering and knowing what to not to ask, and I get tired too much for that."

She gives a silent sigh that he can only see through her body language. "Mind games, you would call it? Very tiring."

Fon can't help it - he laughs. "Very well, then. Also, thank you for clarifying for me - this might save quite a bit of trouble in the future."

The frog's eyes seem to deepen. "I do not understand 'clarifying'. But, that is okay, I can guess many meanings." She shakes her head a little. "You asked a question before, and now I answer. I know mafia because I...ah."

A faint spike of dislike seems to tinge her words. "It is hard to talk and...sound understand. But I used to know bad mafioso, not like you and good mafioso. I kill some."

"I see," he murmurs, sort-of-and-not-sort-of understanding but still getting a vague sort of picture. "Are - were you a freelance assassin, then?"

She shrugs. "No. I just kill some. Not too many. But then there was everything and everyone, people that - " The girl cuts off abruptly, though her fingers are still gentle as they scratch Lichi's throat. "It is hard to say. I do not know how."

"That's fine," Fon says. He supposes that it does make some sense - in that if she was a freelance assassin, there would be no way he could not have heard of her through the ears of the underground.

* * *

**Day XIV**

A swirling tendril of flame forms around one of his palms, hissing slightly as it curls around flesh and sears heat into bone. Fon breathes steadily, the backs of his hands resting on his knees in a cross-legged pose while spheres containing wraiths of flame flare to life at his fingertips.

He breathes out, brow furrowing, and draws the wreath of fire surrounding him into a shape. The fiery tongues spread outward, creating gaping jaws, enclosing around his own fingers -

Abruptly, the fire fades, whispering as it does so.

Fon frowns and clenches his fists.

"Your face is dark."

He sighs and unfolds his legs from his perch on the boulder. To his left, Tianshi's sparrow mask seems to materialize - one of her prettier ones, he thinks, covered with small bristly red-black-white feathers and a conch-shell-like beak.

"You were doing the same thing yesterday," she comments, sitting down next to him. "Obviously, it would not work a second time."

He chuckles and draws on his Storm flame once more, watching the flickering lights dance around his fingertips like candles. "Creating a new technique takes a considerable amount of effort, Tianshi. If I put in enough concentration, I may be able to control - "

She shakes her head. "No, that's - that is not what I meant. You did the same thing before. Breathe in, make flame, create dragon, dragon leaves. Doing things twice will not change much things."

"Doing things twice will not change _many_ things." He corrects her.

The girl tilts her head in acknowledgement. "You are still failing. The dragon will not accept you."

Vanishing the flames, Fon sends her a peculiar look. "The dragon will not accept - ...What do you mean?"

Tianshi has a habit of doing that, he has realized - being blunt at some times and unnecessarily cryptic at others, especially for such a young age. At first he thought it was because of her unfamiliarity with Cantonese, and he began to correct her words and sentences every time she slipped up a little or forgot a couple of words (which was slowly getting better, even after only a week or so). However, in-between the small side talk they shared as they traveled the road to the train station from Anshan to Shenyang, Fon quickly learned that Tianshi had her quirks. She could say something like 'the sky might start to cry' and he would have to translate it to 'it will probably rain soon'.

Sometimes, in a strange way, she reminds him of Luce - who was always wise, always seemed to hold herself in some state of tranquility and all-knowing that, even after the time they had spent together during their team missions before they had been cursed, none of the Arcobaleno could really identify (with _maybe_ the exception of Reborn, who knew her the best out of all of them).

Tianshi can't see into the future, but there are certain times - especially in the evening - when she looks at him, and Fon can't _not_ be sure of the ageless power in her gaze.

It's one of those things that makes him wonder what he should make of it.

"Dragons like to fly," Tianshi is saying. "Not all of them, of course. Some like to sleep, some like to dance..." She folds her hands in her lap; a simple gesture, but the kenpō master can't help but wonder if there is some sort of meaning behind it, as there is in almost every action she takes. Tianshi is mysterious enough for that. "Your dragons like to fly. But you are not flying, you are sleeping on the ground - and the dragons don't like that very much."

If that makes any sense to anybody, Fon is insane.

He expresses as much by giving her a dubious look and saying, "I'm sorry, but you may have to enlighten me further."

"I do not know what that means." She sighs, and he picks up a hint of something related to...fondness, in her voice. (it surprising and pleasing at the same time) "Maybe you will understand when...when times come?"

"When the times come," he says, amending her statement once more.

A smile creeps into her voice. "Are you my teacher of Cantonese?"

"Are you my teacher _in _Cantonese," Fon says placidly. "Perhaps we should pick up a few dictionaries sometime."

The bird pins him with a stare that he can't quite interpret. "Dictionaries cost money that I do not have. You are already helping me with words and...sentences. I will get fluenter with you here, because you can teach."

He throws her a patient smile of his own. "Fluenter isn't actually a word. A more appropriate way of phrasing would be 'more fluent', I would think. And," he pauses. "I'm hardly a good tutor when it comes to languages. A couple of references wouldn't hurt, and I have more than enough yen to pay for it."

She shrugs and stands up. "You can do what you want to do. Either way..." Her voice softens. "I am very much grateful."

Fon blinks, and then chuckles. "I am very grateful, you mean?"

Tianshi leans back and laughs.

Secretly, the Arcobaleno feels relieved - because this laugh is bright and genuine and puts the other laughs he has heard to shame, which used to hold a flavor of sorrow and solitude underneath.

* * *

**Day XXVIII**

"Back already?" Fon calls over his shoulder as the door of their hotel room opens with a pronounced click. He smiles as Lichi bounds across the room and lands on the desk, cheeping at the white envelope in his hands.

"Yes. I wanted to go back soon after I got these."

When he turns, he is surprised - and somewhat delighted - to see that, for once, Tianshi isn't wearing one of her masks. Any glimpses at her real face have always been rare, and this is one of the few times he is able to get a clear view.

A small, flat nose, rounded cheekbones, unblemished olive skin, and two almond brown eyes that seem just a bit eerie and just a bit comforting at the same time.

(To be honest, he's not quite sure why he feels a little more at peace when he sees her unmasked face. It's almost as if it's a testimony that she trusts him enough, feels safe enough around him to show him who she really is without another face to cover her own - something like symbolism.

A bizarre theory.)

She lifts up two masks for him to see - one of them a raccoon of sorts, and the other...well, he's not quite sure what the other one is, but it looks like a yellow rat with red cheeks and long, fat ears with black tips. She lowers them, however, upon seeing the letter in his hands. "What is that? Is it poisoned?"

"This?" He waves the envelope a little and laughs. "Ah, no. It's from a student of mine."

His partner raises an eyebrow. "A student?"

"Yes, I think I may have mentioned her to you in passing." He busies himself with tearing it open and pulling out the stationary, decorated with small green vines and leaves. "Her name is I-Pin."

"I noticed...a week ago, you were writing something. And a week before that. It was to her?"

He nods. "I used to travel with her, about two months ago. I trained her for almost a year before we parted ways and she started taking on solo missions." A wave of pride swells up inside of him. "We exchange letters from time to time."

Tianshi kneels down and props her elbows on top of the desk, chin held in her hands. "If she is your student, then why is she not with you?"

"Well, she won't have me there to guide her for the rest of her life," he says. "It's good experience for her. She'll learn how to make decisions on her own and handle herself in the underworld."

She frowns. "I guess that makes sense. Is she good?"

"Very good." He doesn't bother to hide his contented expression, nor the synonymous warmth of satisfaction thrumming through his heart. "She's currently known as one of the most promising child assassins of this generation."

"Child?"

"She's five. I took her under my wing when she was four or so."

Both of her eyebrows shoot up. "Impressed."

He smiles. "_Impressive_, you mean."

"Impressive," she repeats, amused. "I met you a month ago. One month after she left?"

Fon hums in affirmation. "Yes. To be honest, I didn't think I would pick up another travelling partner so soon. Not," he adds assuredly. "that I have any complaints."

"Good." The strange rat mask is placed onto her face, accompanied by the white string snapping over her ears. Tianshi stands up and wanders over to the mirror, no doubt "judging its appeal" instead of "admiring her reflection", as they had once argued (more like bantered) over during a stay at a different hotel. "You were only alone for one month, so it wasn't too bad. Yes?"

Over time, the Arcobaleno has come to know that, out of the few things Tianshi despises, _solitude _is one of the highest on her list. He can't blame her. Before he had adopted I-Pin as an apprentice, he had been quite used to the silence that lacked company in his travels (save for Lichi's small sounds that he's gotten quite good at interpreting). In the month after she had left, however, he was (to his surprising consternation) almost tempted to call her back (regardless of her level of finesse) in order to satisfy the almost-pathetic, gnawing emptiness he felt.

He never _did_ understand Skull at all - nor any Cloud guardian, for that matter.

"I suppose so," he says agreeably. Tianshi must have heard the sincerity in his tone because she looks back at him, and behind her mask, Fon knows that she is smiling again.

"What does your student say?" she asks.

He leans back from his seat on the armrest of the wooden chair, holding the parchment up to the lamplight. "Shall I read it to you, then?" he asks.

She tilts her head. "I'm...interested. I wouldn't mind."

After a contemplative moment, he consents and begins to read the ink-dabbed words written by I-Pin some-thousand miles away. In the background, Tianshi flings herself over the couch and rests her head on the cushioned arm.

"Dear Master, thank you for replying to me so quickly. I hope you are still doing well. I'm sorry I haven't sent anything in a while, but I have recently gotten a new mission that will take me to Japan. I have never been there so I am really looking forward to it. I do not know how to speak Japanese very well, though, so I hope I will not have to talk with many native people there..."

Tianshi's chest rises up and down slowly, and she looks like she's dead to everything in the world, but Fon has been around her long enough to know that she cares and she listens.

* * *

**Day XXXVIII**

"I told you not to accompany me, didn't I?"

An empty warehouse, stuffed with wooden crates lined with steel. Some of them are broken - the floor is trashed with wooden planks, splinters, and bits of cloth.

"You never said anything about twenty-four hits."

Fon sees twelve bodies laying on the ground, all dead. He actually _has_ counted properly this time - it's just that the other twelve bodies have been eaten to ash and swept away into nothing.

"No, but I was perfectly capable of handling it. As much as I appreciate your efforts, there was no need to follow me in order to ensure my safety."

"We are both safe, and we both have the power to _stay_ safe. I do not see the problem."

There is a small, flickering, sunset-colored flame; a remnant of a clash with one of the better-skilled targets who had forced him to draw out his Storm Arcobaleno abilities. It rarely happened these days, and he can admit to a bit of reluctant respect towards _that_ particular corpse twisted in the far corner of the concrete.

Tianshi's flames, on the other hand, leave no traces besides huge craters in the ground where devouring fire had once ravaged their victims.

"What matters is that, by coming here, you put yourself in danger."

"I wasn't in danger."

"Even if you weren't - "

A grid of light filters through the windows, which are only shuttered half-way. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to see. Not that blindness would have been much of a problem with his huge amounts of experience in assassinations in different environments, and the light of his flames would have allowed him to see anyway.

"And that is all there is to know. You should not worry for me unless you want to underestimate me. You have already seen some of my power. I am making this job easier."

"The point is that you shouldn't have to feel inclined to help me, even if we are travelling partners of sorts."

"I do not 'have to feel'. I am inclined because I want to be inclined."

"Tianshi - " A hint of exasperation escapes through a crack in his unbreakable wall of courtesy.

She sends him a look that practically screams tolerance. It makes him feel like his body's age. It also makes him want to pinch the bridge of his nose and lose a fraction of his temper. "Death, killing, is not hard for me. It is very easy. It is also easy for you. It is easy for both of us. Is that really what you are worried about?"

"I...yes," he says, finally admitting. "Is that so wrong?"

"You train a five-year-old to kill people."

"She is a natural in every way. You, on the other hand, are not the same as my student."

"No." Tianshi crosses her arms. "I am beyond a student. I am already good at killing. Accept this."

Fon feels like sighing, so he does, except the sound doesn't give him much comfort at all. Behind her raccoon mask, she seems to study him. Their figures are barely illuminated by the shabby lighting of their surroundings, so for a moment, Fon doubts that she will be able to find much.

"It bothers you," she says at last. "That I can kill things easy - easily - and I am not sad - even though you have already seen my flames and you must know that it has taken many lives to make them so deadly. It also bothers me that you are an infant and you can do the same, but I know that you are not actually an infant - "

He frowns.

" - because you say you have trained I-Pin for a year, which means you are older than one, but your body does not agree with this logic. You are also a very fast killer. So, I have no problem. I am not a fast killer, or a famous one, but I am a killer and I can be inclined to follow you because I care about you now. So, it would be very nice if you can _stop_ having problems."

The air around them suddenly feels thick with clogging, suffocating dust. Fon only just remembers not to gape - it's unsightly in any situation - and settles on just staring at her, taken aback by _pretty much everything_ right now.

"We go together now," she says, and a note of finality lingers in her voice that wraps up the conversation. "If you go to a warehouse for a job, I will come with you. If you kill, I will kill with you. I do not care if that thought is not comfort. Do you understand?"

Fon deadpans. Inside, he is still completely and utterly lost as to where their minor argument ended up. "Even if I didn't, you would still do as you would please."

She huffs. "You make me sound selfish. I am not."

And that, he has to agree with. She wasn't selfish. If anything, by caring for him in this strange way of hers, she was selfless.

Or both, at the same time. How did that even work?

He supposes it has something to do with perspective.

"Are you planning on sharing all of my future missions with me now?" he asks dryly as they evacuate the warehouse. Tianshi turns around at the entrance and quickly cleans up the bodies with her scarlet flame (he's _positive_ he'll never get used to how easily those flames can annihilate) in a matter of seconds.

The raccoon just looks at him. "As long as I am with you."

With those words, it suddenly occurs to him that he has no idea exactly _how long_ that will be.

* * *

**Day LII**

Tianshi is not her real name.

Of course it is not. She chose it two years ago on a whim - although at the time, in Italy, she had introduced herself as "Angelo" to a young lady working at a bakery and had stayed loyal to that name until she took flight (ha) to Asia (China specifically) and had promptly translated her "name" to Cantonese because, well, she had felt like it.

She had taken one look at her surroundings after her awakening, at the fine dust collected on surfaces that had once been spotless only what seemed to be _several hours previously_, and had promptly decided that using her real name would not be right. After all, there was nobody to know her by that name anymore.

(Or maybe there was, but she was still trying to find an answer for that. She was still trying to find an answer for a lot of things.)

Miracles are supposed to be _miraculous_ things meant to surprise you, but Tianshi is not surprised by anything anymore. She prefers to take things in stride. So she certainly was not surprised when she found Fon, who is, ironically, named after the wind.

(_It's kinda funny, how you have a Storm flame and all. Hurricanes seem kinda tame compared to all the goddamn power you can conjure up in your pretty little hands._

_Bitter, aren't we?_

_So what if I am? Being a walking incinerator, I mean, must be fucking blessing, right?)_

Even from across the street in Dalian, she could clearly see - if not sense - the glowing red pacifier hanging around his neck. The first sight of it had felt like a concussion-inducing punch to the skull and a steel-teethed, vice-like grip on her heart.

It hurt. (It still did, sometimes.)

She was not surprised, but she did not - still does not - know what to make of it. The pacifier was even owned by a baby of around one or two, although one look in his eyes told her otherwise. Too hardened, too strong of a gaze, even for a genius. Too knowledgeable of the world and, from the looks of it, guarded from the despair that it can hold.

A day later, she came across a white monkey with a pink heart-shaped face, who was clearly owned by someone but must have thought said person was her, because it latched on and refused to leave, even when the girl had tried reasoning with it. She did not particularly mind the animal's company, but she _did_ worry that its true master would never find their pet even if they did try searching for it.

The _scimmia_ had disappeared the night Tianshi had seen the infant again, whom she had caught leaping into the window of a hotel and delivering swift, precise blows to compensate for the distinguishable tang of blood in the air, blown outside by the wind. She had seen the gunman on the opposite building before he had even started shooting, and had carefully taken her time walking up the many stories of the building to get to the rooftop, since she doubted the little assassin would be killed by a few poorly-aimed bullets anyhow.

Before she could kill the gunman, however, he had whipped around and shot a bullet straight at her that was laced with Lightning flames.

She dodged it, examined the faint trail of energy left between them, and had cast her own flames out to make the man disappear before he could cause anymore damage to the air.

(_Thirteenth rule of survival? Don't waste your time figuring out an enemy's moves unless it calls for it. You're curious? Too bad. Kill the man and turn the hell around so you can bring down the next one before he kills you. You won't have time to wonder how strong some guy's flames are when you're a second away from death and all you can really think of is 'shit'._

_Some people would actually be thinking of their families in their last moments before death._

_Yes, but then they'll be thinking that 'shit, I'll never see my wife and children again'. The 'shit' is still involved in there._

_But - _

_Look, does it really matter?_)

That wasn't the first time she had seen flames used by _them_, but it was the first time she had seen Lightning flames. They were sloppy and poorly crafted, but Lightning flames nonetheless.

A few seconds later and the infant - Fon - had arrived. There was no mistaking the waltz of Storm flames contained in the pacifier, burning bright and pure, almost dazzling to look at.

It did not make any sense. It _does not_ make any sense. Then again, the Tri-ni-set never really made much sense to begin with - and there is no way that the pacifier _is not_ related to the world's balance in some way or another.

The monkey had returned the day after, and Tianshi was smart enough to connect the dots and figure out who its - his - owner was (is).

Secretly, she was very, very happy when Fon had invited her to join him on his way across China, in no particular direction, which was exactly the way she was used to travelling on her own. She does not like being alone, and the past two years have been quite straining with no-one interesting enough to accompany.

(_I know what it is like to be alone. You do not. You have no right - _)

Tianshi probably would have followed him anyway, even if he had not offered. Fon is the first lead she had on _anything_ since she had awakened, and she is not eager to let that go.

He is also the proof that she needs to know that there is someone _like her_ that is still alive, even after all this time (although it really does not feel very long in her opinion).

And that is the main reason she is travelling with him, is it not? Not because Fon is interesting by himself, not because she is lonely, not because Lichi wants her to come along (all three of which are true and valid reasons, but just not as important).

Because there is someone out there like her who is still alive, and who is probably the reason for all of the confusion she has been faced with since meeting here. Maybe there is even more than one person. But she really couldn't care less about _who exactly_ she is referring to, because all she cares about is that those people might be her _family_.

You do not abandon your family, and you do not abandon hope. The King believed in that.

(She did not think he realized that, by saying that, he was also inadvertently saying that family and hope were the same thing.

He also probably didn't realize that he was the symbol of hope.

So _what on earth did that make him?_)

If she follows Fon -

If she follows the wind -

It will take her to a place that holds answers. The world seems to enjoy playing games, and this is how one of those games will go.

At the same time, Tianshi does not want to use Fon for that. She does not like _using_ people for anything. Especially Fon, who is kind and compassionate in a fierce, primal sort of way, although he rarely shows that savage side of him, which is ferociously _loving_ towards the people he knows. She saw it when he talked about I-Pin, and once - _once_ - she heard it in his voice when she first followed him during one of his missions, into the warehouse filled with criminals with bounties on their heads. The desire and the passion to protect and care for.

Before, she couldn't see how Fon could wield such a wild, rampant flame like the Storm. Then, she knew.

It humbled her.

Even though Fon isn't like her and doesn't understand her completely, Tianshi _feels_ like he is family. Except -

She knows that it isn't true, and that the only people who could ever hope to be her family are people who _are_ like her.

It's a selfish thought.

(_Don't be selfish. We aren't...we don't stand for that. We don't represent selfishness._

_What are we, then? Sacrifices?_

_Answer me!_

_If we aren't selfish, then what the hell are we supposed to be? What the hell are we even doing here right now?_)

"It's been a long time."

Fon's quiet voice reaches her ears - and even though she has been thinking quite deeply, her senses never dull enough to fail her.

"A long time?" she asks, just a little bit humorously, as she weaves another strand of black around her fingers. "Since someone has done hair for you?"

He chuckles and closes his eyes, settled comfortably in her lap. "Since I've let my guard down completely, actually. Ten years ago...ten years ago, there was nobody I trusted enough to let them do something like this. We've only known each other for...two months, at the latest?"

She hums, not really focusing on the fact that Fon's physical age is far less than ten years. "Time makes bad judgement. Two people can spend eternities in the same prison cell without ever truly understanding one another."

"...True," Fon murmurs. He has gotten far too used to her phrasing and its philosophical tendencies. "But, at the same time, you don't have to truly understand another person to trust them with your life and everything else."

You don't have to truly understand.

In order to trust?

Her fingers _don't_ still as they continue to twine his hair into an intricate braid, but they come close. "I guess so," she says, almost a whisper.

She leans back a little against the rooftop railing, craning her neck to see the cyan sky. No storm, rain, sun, lightning, clouds, or mist. Just sky.

_How very lonely it looks._


	3. Chapter III

**Warning(s):** AU, OC-centric, violence, language, (and will forever be) GEN

**Alternate Summary:** When the forgotten girl takes her first step into a new world and finds nothing and no-one but strange things and strangers, she refuses to lose hope. The power of the Tri-ni-set is beyond measure, after all. And exactly that is proven when she comes across Fon, the calm before the storm, a child with a pacifier dangling around his neck - a pacifier that she has never seen before in her life but still, somehow, recognizes. She figures that, if she tails the wind for a while, it might carry her to the sky - where she might finally, finally receive some answers that have long been overdue.

**Author's Note:** I'm just absolute crap at summaries. Expect the current one to change, like, every other day, because I'm never happy with what I come up with. Also, I haven't actually watched KHR in a while - so if I accidentally tweak some small things that are different from the canon, I'll point to the AU tag in the warnings. Anyway! Favorites, follows, and reviews (including criticism, provided that it's not hateful) are all very much appreciated!

(I've been trying to subtly differentiate the style of writing for each perspective/character but I'm failing so hard right now. OTL RIP.)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_.

* * *

"Fon."

His eyes scan the letter in front of him.

"Fon."

He hums something noncommittally.

"Fon, you are _pregnant._"

The Arcobaleno looks up, thoroughly confused. "I'm sorry?"

Tianshi tilts her head to stare at him. She toes the edge of the lamppost she's standing on; they're somewhere on the highway, acting oblivious to the dozens of cars barreling across the road as they're too busy enjoying the spring weather. "If you are going to be distracted, then be distracted all the time, instead of only listening to the things I say that don't even make sense."

Fon sighs (a sound whisked away by the stream of automobiles), but can't quite help the upward twitch of his lips. "My apologies. I-Pin just wrote some things that have caught my attention."

"Like?" she asks, sitting down on the head of the street light. Her fingers twirl absently around the curls of her dragon whiskers.

He shifts slightly on her shoulder so that she can read the letter as well, brushing away a stray strand of grey hair. "After a couple of missions, she's decided to stay in Japan for a while to train her...discipline. From what it seems, she's recently been taken in and adopted by the _famiglia_ of one Tsunayoshi Sawada after attempting to bring about his unwarranted assassination in Japan. _Tsunayoshi Sawada_, who is currently in training to become Vongola Decimo with the help of the strongest known hitman in the world, Reborn."

"That's good for her." Tianshi gently tugs Lichi away from the strings of her mask. Her eyes dart across the paper, linger, before sliding back to him. "Right?"

"It depends," he says, somewhat heavily. "I just hope that she won't get into too much trouble. The Vongola Famiglia is one of the strongest mafia syndicates in the world, if not _the_ strongest, but it's weakened in power because of the Ninth boss's condition. The current heir and his affiliates may find themselves targeted by any enemy _famiglie_ eager to tear down the Vongola before it can return to its former strength."

She places Lichi on top of his head and scrutinizes him. "It is unlike you to be worried," she comments.

He tosses her an amused glance. "But I do have the capability of being so, as you can see me demonstrating at the moment. Then again," He pauses to contemplate for a moment. "Seeing as Reborn is there, I'm probably just worrying over nothing."

She nods, mostly to herself. "You said he was the strongest hitman in the world? Reborn is a strange name."

"He is quite interesting," he says, quirking a smile. "And very skilled. I think you would like him."

"Does I-Pin know about me?" she asked abruptly.

Fon ponders for a moment. "Yes, but not much. I mentioned to her that I had picked up a new travelling partner, a few years older, and that she likes to listen to the letters you sent me. Other than that..."

Tianshi nods and a brief lack of conversation ensues - which Fon doesn't terribly mind. He takes a deep, calming breath and tucks the letter away for safe-keeping, as he's done with every other letter I-Pin has ever sent since they parted ways.

The cars whiz past in a flurry of amber lights and gleaming hoods, incredibly fast from their point of view, although some slow down as they near their vicinity. Fon can't help but feel a little relieved, knowing that sooner or later, they will have to come back down and disappear before someone calls someone else to forcibly remove them. The invisible fumes rising from the steady release of gases makes him slightly nauseous at times. Simultaneously, a small hammer of guilt strikes his heart for thinking it, since he knows - for some odd reason - that Tianshi is entranced by the sight of cars and planes and helicopters and fast-moving vehicles.

He had nearly laughed when she had ran up to a train and eyed it with a starry-eyed wonderment, brushing her fingers along its surface as they were getting ready to board.

Later, he hadn't known whether to laugh or frown (or both) when she told him that she had never even seen a train, much less been on one. When asked _how come_, she tilted her head and said, clear and straightforward, that it was related to her past and that she kind-of-sort-of-didn't really want to talk about it.

Her demeanor hadn't changed, though, and she didn't seem perturbed by whatever memory he may have brought up by asking the question, so he let it go and assumed that she just had an unusual childhood (which he probably could have guessed by himself, so in the end, it really brought him nowhere).

His train of thought (a part of his brain rebels and laughs even though the rest of him thinks that was _absolutely_ _horrible_) is broken as Tianshi scoots backward, pulling her feet behind her so she can grip the pole of the lamppost and slide down to the ground. Her movements have a sort of grace to them, as if she's done this far too many times and it's now nothing more than a routine - removing herself from places that are some-twenty feet high up without a single scratch, that is.

It _is_ a routine, actually; for both of them. One of the things Fon can't help but appreciate daily is their shared affection for higher elevations.

"Fon?" Tianshi asks as she climbs up the grassy hill from whence they came. Lichi sings merrily from his perch for encouragement.

"Hm?"

"Are you going to take another job?"

He glances at her, curious. "Most likely. Why do you ask?"

The girl smiles a margin - and he immediately finds himself intrigued, because it's rare for her to smile _at all_ unless he or someone else manages to draw it out of her usually-blank expressions and undecipherable masks. "I was just wondering," she says slowly. "If the Triad you work for lets you go on vacations."

"...Well, they _do_ allow them." They're not really vacations - or they are, but everybody just calls them _leaves_. Luckily, his boss isn't unbearably restricting. "It wouldn't be entirely impossible to arrange for one." He studies her. "What are you planning?"

"You make me sound like I'm scheming."

"You make yourself sound entirely innocent. Good use of the word 'scheming', by the way. I see some of my semi-tutoring lessons have paid off."

The dragon deadpans as much as a mask can deadpan. She waves a hand vaguely through the air. "One, I am a good student and you are a good teacher. Of course those lessons have paid off. And two - "

Tianshi smiles wider. Fon is immediately suspicious.

" - I asked because, soon, I want to visit your student in Japan."

Both he and Lichi turn their heads to stare at her.

"What?" he asks - since, for a moment, he's honestly not sure if he's heard that right. "Why?"

Her eyebrows furrow slightly, like a fraction of a frown. "From what you said, it sounds fun there. Besides, I have heard about your student for a long time, but I still have not met her face-to-face. It would be nice to see her." She shrugs, though not enough to shake Lichi off. "I want to meet those interesting people. I-Pin, Tsunayoshi Sawada, and Reborn. Right now, they are all in the same place."

"I..." What's the right word? Flabbergasted? No, that's a bit too extreme. More like amused and exasperated and disbelieving and - and - yes, pretty much all of those combined. "I thought you wanted to go to Shanghai."

"Wanted, yes," she agrees. "But not interested enough."

His eyebrows shoot skyward. "Wasn't I just talking about the potential dangers that might be surrounding the Vongola?"

Arriving at the top of the hill, Tianshi smooths a leaf out of her hair and heads into the cluster of pine trees in front of them. She smiles again. "Danger is fun. It keeps you alive - no, it reminds you that you are alive. Otherwise, you might forget. I like sushi, too."

The last sentence is tacked on as an afterthought; it releases a startled laugh from his lips. He quickly scans the sky, watching a cloud obscure the sun along its lazy path.

_Why not?_

Well, if that _isn't_ a rhetorical question, then -

Firstly, Fon is - and has always been - wary of the Vongola's workings (and rightly so, in his opinion). The Ninth (Timoteo, Vongola Nono) is a kind man, worthy of much respect, but that doesn't change the fact that his _famiglia_ in particular is prone to all sorts of great calamities and chaos, in general. Ignoring the fact that the Triads are on civil terms with them - Fon prefers _peace_ and _quiet_ and most of the mafioso under the Vongola's jurisdiction are anything but.

It doesn't sound like a very important reason, but it is to him (sort of).

Secondly -

What comes after that?

He can't see much resistance coming from his Triad, and Reborn is an old friend of his...and I-Pin is his _student _(the only one he _has_ and the only one he's_ ever had_). She alone can probably overrule any other reason of _not to go_ that he can think of.

"I-Pin would like it if she saw you again," Tianshi happens to say right then and there.

He shakes his head. "Yes, and it would be nice to see her again, but if - "

Then, he cuts himself off -

Because why on earth would he try to make an _excuse_ for something that he _wants_?

His travelling partner seems to read his thoughts, because she tilts her head back and laughs - chiming and lilting and never failing to enrich whatever atmosphere that surrounds them. "Be selfish sometimes," she says after she stops, eyes glowing with warmth. "Let's go to Japan. I-Pin isn't taking missions anymore, so you can be there for her, can't you? What do you have to lose?"

What an amazing utilization of rhetoric.

Fon stares unseeingly into the rustling pine needles brushing past them as Tianshi continues to walk. Finally, he sighs and says, "What if I refuse?"

"Oh," she says mildly. "It doesn't matter, because you already made up your mind, and it's in my favor."

He deadpans. "It is in my favor as well, seeing as I _am_ also consenting to this trip."

The dragon seems to take on a determined countenance. "After you finish your next job and talk with your boss, we are going to the nearest airport and flying to Japan at _record speed_," she promises (in a voice that could very well be used to _dominate_ _lions_).

Personally, Fon feels a bit more like cheering (inwardly) and pinching the bridge of his nose (outwardly) at the same time.

* * *

Tianshi does not know why she is doing this.

She does not know why she does not ask Fon about what she really wishes to know, nor does she know why she does not reveal her true motives.

She does not know why she is going to Japan for _fun_. She does not know why she is meeting Fon's friends for _fun_. (Not that she does know a lot of things, but these are the things that she does not know that have to do with the _present, _here and now.)

She does not know why she is wasting time.

(_You don't have time for that sort of thing. Make better choices, okay? Sheesh..._

_You don't have any authority to tell me what to do, brat._

_This again? For the _last time_, I'm only _two years_ younger than you. If you don't quit, I swear I'm going to start calling you an _old man.)

She does not know. She does not know. _She does not know._ This is what she tells herself, but -

Unfortunately, she is no Mist Guardian. They were good enough to deceive even themselves, which is equally sad _and_ something to be admired.

At times, when Fon and Lichi are off somewhere else and she stands alone, surrounded by nothing but objects that vow they will never judge her, Tianshi allows herself to be envious of the mist. She usually banishes these thoughts immediately after, but what matters is that they had once _existed_.

_(Envy the living? Ha! No, y'see, that's not how it works - you gotta envy both and just hate yourself all the more for it.)_

Deep inside, she _does_ know lots of things - and yet, while she possesses the ability to put her intentions into words, she is too afraid to (even try to) do so. After all, fear is not something she has discarded or bothered to overcome, since it is not a dangerous emotion; rather, it tends to keep people anxious and alert and _alive._

And, perhaps, she is just a little bit disgusted with herself.

But, then again, what does _she_ know?

* * *

"I don't think I've asked you this before," Fon starts as they study the flashing gold letters on the billboard, Tianshi with two duffel bags around her shoulders (she ran out of space for all of the masks she collected) and Lichi peeking through a small air hole she leaves unzipped, while he himself scans the notices for the different times in order to pinpoint the appropriate plane that will take them to Japan if they successfully (illegally) sneak on board - which they will. After all, both of them have done this before. "Do you speak Japanese?"

She glances at him (mask-less, otherwise it would attract more attention than they can manage), face void and impassive. "_Of course I do not_," she says, in Japanese. "_What would make you think such a thing?_"

Fon is taken aback by a grand total of five seconds. Once it wears off, he manages to laugh with genuine amusement, although he finds himself debating between feeling more concerned or more proud over Tianshi's discovery of sarcasm.

* * *

Reborn tilts his fedora up to glance at the sky - blue and ablaze and more radiant than usual - from his seat on the open windowsill. A small breeze flows through, carrying a little tuft of a feather that Leon quickly snags before it can enter the room. He offers it to his owner, who takes it without a word and twirls it around his small fingers.

A mouthwatering scent wafts in from the hallway (mushrooms, butter, parsley, tender steak), the side-product of Mama's delicious cooking. The home tutor stifles a sigh when a dull thump resounds through the house, along with a _shouted tenth, are you alright?!_ and a _you okay, Tsuna?_ and a _hey, Sawada, be careful!_

He closes his eyes, wishing that sometimes Dame-Tsuna could stop making so much unnecessary noise - or at least stop being _dame_ long enough to silence his Guardians. Strange - he was never much of a peaceful person, always grew bored with it eventually, but there were times when he just felt uncharacteristically Fon-like -

His eyes snap open and focus on the underside of the roof above him. Leon twitches but doesn't move, already recognizing the presence. "It's been a long time," he says after a moment's silence. "Fon."

The air barely stirs as a flash of scarlet flips off the roof and lands next to him, black hair trailing behind like a dragon's tail. "Indeed," the Storm Arcobaleno says genially. "Have you been well, Reborn?"

He's tempted to scoff. "...Well enough. And you?"

Fon dips his head. "Better, now that I've arrived here." His words seem genuine, and his voice considerably lighter than the last time they had spoken (probably because of I-Pin). The difference is surprisingly apparent. "I wanted to visit I-Pin after I heard she was taken in by your student. How are they?"

"They're both fine," he says. He opens his mouth to say more, but the intended words die in his throat when he realizes that Fon's monkey is nowhere to be seen. This was rare - all of the Arcobaleno were protective over their animals (whether they admitted it or not) and kept them at their sides, Fon being no exception. "I don't see Lichi. Where is he?"

Fon actually tilts his head, then immediately rights himself. If Reborn didn't know any better, he would think that the slight twist in the other's expression was a product of _embarrassment_ - but no, it was bemusement. He wouldn't be the strongest hitman in the world if he didn't know how to _read_. "Lichi is with my companion. My...partner, of sorts," the martial artist reveals. "We met several months ago, after I-Pin began taking solo missions."

"Partner?" he echoes, an eyebrow raised.

I-Pin's master smiles serenely, with no small amount of fondness blended in. "Of sorts. She fares well when she assists me during my missions. I also tutored her in Cantonese for a while."

Reborn's curiosity is now fully piqued, but before he can delve further into the subject that is Fon's new friend, an unfamiliar presence spikes his senses alert and Leon out of his half-slumber. The chameleon's eyes dart around, peering around the room and past Fon, before settling on an invisible point several inches west of the Storm Arcobaleno's head - gaze intense, somber, and very, _very_ contradicting in comparison to the lizard's usual character.

Fon's smile brightens even as Reborn glances up sharply at his animal companion. "That would be her," the martial artist says cheerfully. "I should meet up with her. She'll introduce herself properly at the front door."

Reborn nods shortly and rises to his feet as Fon leaps gracefully away - a sense of pure, undiluted happiness about him that the hitman doesn't think he has seen since the days before they were cursed.

It almost _forces_ him to wonder.

* * *

Reborn is strangely absent, he thinks (albeit sardonically) as he stares at the ominous figure of a triangle with a 45° angle (what was he supposed to use? sin...no, sine, cosine, which one was it again?) while Gokudera snarls and bristles at a grinning Yamamoto while, at the same time, _trying_ to snarl and bristle as he attempts to retrieve his pencil from Lambo's stubborn fist, who flies around the room with I-Pin in a game of half-tag, half-_Lambo-give-back-that-pencil-back-to_-and-_it's-my-pencil-now-nyahahaha_ or something along those lines.

Bianchi is roaming the town and his mom rests in her room, reading a novel, oblivious to the discordance. He feels like closing his eyes and dying (_not_ with the dying will bullet), if only to escape all of the chaos in his life that started with Reborn.

Abruptly, said tutor enters the room. Speak of the devil, _literally._

Tsuna cringes as Lambo whips around, catches one glimpse of the orange-striped fedora, and immediately declares war on the other infant. Like usual, Reborn ignores him; however, the flat, pointed gaze directed at all of them has his friends straightening up and I-Pin pausing on the surface of the coffee table.

Lambo is the only one who doesn't quiet, but the hitman's voice easily carries over the other. "What do you think you're doing, Dame-Tsuna?" he asks, smirking. "Go answer the door. We have visitors."

A second later, the doorbell rings.

Grumbling in his head because _how was he supposed to know that _and_ not everybody is psychic like you, Reborn, _Tsuna rises to his feet and heads to the door, stumbling slightly on the rug next to the coat rack. Behind him, the noise resumes, although at a distinctly quieter level. He hesitates slightly before grasping the door knob, _dearly_ hoping that it isn't someone that Reborn has been expecting. Those people, he finds, are usually set out to torture, torment, or try to kill him.

The door swings open to reveal a little girl, around nine years old, muffled in a plushy hooded sweater and a striped scarf. She wears a black cat mask with intricate white marks across its eyes and needle-like whiskers - while a (oh dear god no) baby in Oriental clothing and braided hair reclines on her shoulder.

"Good afternoon," the baby (the baby, the _baby_, why is it _always_ _babies_) says amicably. "May I presume that you are Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"U-um," he begins (eloquently). "Yes, that's me." He eyes them with no small amount of anxiety. "Who are you?"

The baby stands up and bows at the waist, right palm wrapped around his left fist. "My name is Fon," he says, straightening back up. His tiny hand gestures to the wearer of the cat mask, who tilts her head and gives a sort of low nod. "This is my good friend, who goes by Tianshi. I believe you are acquainted with my apprentice, I-Pin?"

Tsuna gapes at the last sentence. "I-Pin? Wait...apprentice?"

"Fon's is I-Pin's martial arts tutor," Reborn comments helpfully as he approaches from behind. "She calls him her master."

_Master - _

"Y-You're I-Pin's master?" he can't help but splutter. I-Pin had mentioned something about him, but he could never have guessed that he would be a friend of Reborn's (and in the same age group, no less). They seem completely different, though - Fon is more cordial, unlike Reborn, who prefers violence and abuse to communicate with others when he's not putting on the innocent baby facade. So, in other words, I-Pin must have it _easier_?

Unless the courtesy was just an act. He just didn't _trust_ babies.

"That I am," Fon says in affirmation, a tint of amusement shading his voice. "May we come in?"

"Sure." Reborn speaks as Tsuna hastily moves out of the way. Tianshi steps past the doorway and slips off her shoes, while a monkey - wait, a _monkey_, how did he even _miss that_ - scrambles across her shoulders to occupy the empty space Fon leaves vacant as he leaps down onto the floor. Meanwhile, Reborn seems to study Tianshi under the brim of his fedora.

When the cat turns to stare back, he takes the initiative and steps forward. "Ciaossu," he says. "I'm Tsuna's home tutor, Reborn."

Despite the fact that her body is unnaturally still, almost wary of being addressed, she doesn't seem particularly perturbed - although that might have something to do with the expressionless mask covering her face. "Reborn," she says (the insipid _nonexistence_ in there is almost unsettling). "And your chameleon. It is nice to meet you."

Leon twitches.

A flurry of footsteps sound, and suddenly, Tsuna finds the left side of his vision blocked by a familiar head of silver hair. "Who are you?" Gokudera growls. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"G-Gokudera-kun!" Why does the bomber have to be so _hostile?_ "Wait, they're not - "

"Two more kids?" Yamamoto asks rhetorically, approaching from his other side. "Tsuna, do you know them?"

"Fon is an old friend of mine," Reborn replies, even though the question isn't directed at him. His onyx eyes are firmly fixated on the pair in front of him, who watch Tsuna's guardians with something akin to mild fascination.

Abruptly, Gokudera falters (and for good reason; apparently, Reborn demands _so much_ respect (why, he'll never know) that insulting any of his _actual friends_ might just be the same as asking for a death wish). "You're friends with Reborn?"

Which isn't exactly true, because Reborn and Tianshi don't seem like they know each other at all - but that doesn't mean she has to be isolated.

"...Master?"

Behind Ryohei and Bianchi, both of whom appear close behind Yamamoto, I-Pin hovers in the entrance frame of the living room. A painful, wonderful sort of _hope_ flits across her face in the form of a myriad of expressions and contortions.

Fon smiles - the gentleness in his eyes reminds Tsuna of the occasional proud look in his mom's own (but when was the last time he saw that, anyway?). "Hello, I-Pin."

"Master!"

In a flash, the young assassin is in front of Fon and pulling her mentor into a warm, tight, crushing embrace, arms tugging at the back of his clothes (what is it anyway, robe, shirt, some kind of Chinese clothing he doesn't know the name of). Chuckling, he reaches out to press his arm against her back and pat her head with the other. Behind them, Tianshi lifts the monkey off her shoulder and onto I-Pin's head - where it clings to her braid, looking smugly satisfied.

When she finally relinquishes her grasp, a river of some other language - Cantonese - pours out of her mouth, excited and enthusiastic and pleased. Fon simply laughs and throws a light glance at Tianshi, who tilts her head in reply.

As all of them enter (or re-enter, depending on the people in question) the living room and Lambo leaps out from his hiding spot to ambush them, only to be grabbed and stretched by a frustrated Gokudera, Tsuna watches as Yamamoto offers his best tranquilizing grin - which Fon returns - and I-Pin gives Tianshi a quick, curious look that would later lead to an introduction.

The cat mask reveals nothing. He can't help but wonder what hides underneath.

* * *

I-Pin is better educated in Cantonese than most other five-year-old's. She's not at an adult level, but she at least knows the meanings of most of the language's figurative tools, and some of the harder-to-define words. It isn't like she ever had a choice not to be any worse - after all, Fon is her master and Master's _eloquent_ manner of speaking is _impeccable_.

If she's still no-good at Japanese and can't quite seem to phrase things correctly to tell Master all of the things she wants to tell him, then she can always switch to her native language. It's _also_ a relief that there is finally someone in the household who can understand her when she accidentally switches between Japanese and Cantonese.

However, even with her vast knowledge of dictionary definitions and proper sentence structure, she can't find the right words to describe how happy, excited, overjoyed, angered, confused, curious, heart-broken, heart-fixed, and _everything_ she feels right now at his return. It makes her want to scream in frustration and throw a tantrum. If she was Lambo, that is.

She's missed him so, so much. He's the person who took her in and taught her how to kill without losing her mind or her feelings like some of the Triad members. He's the reason that she can spend half of her days running around chasing people with bounties on their heads and then killing them with a snap of their necks or a quick kick to the forehead, and _still_ knowing how to smile. He's the reason why she doesn't mind having a "normal" childhood, whatever that is, because spending time with him was better than any other time spent on anything else. That was before he'd told her to go hunt people down _by herself, all alone._

As she babbles out a stream of words that really don't even come close to what she really, really means, she's relieved when Master looks at her with a familiar understanding that tells her he already _knows_. It isn't really surprising. Master has a way of knowing everything.

And Lichi! I-Pin had no idea how much she missed the monkey until now. He's always fun to chase and pet and feed berries to, though not poisonous ones because a long time ago, Master taught her which ones could kill, which ones could harm, and which ones couldn't do either.

She's a little puzzled about a lot of things, though, like why Master thought about visiting her now of all times. She's not complaining, of course, but it seems sudden. Normally, he would have sent a notice in his letters.

But, along with that, there's someone new next to Master who seems to be a friend.

Tianshi is very quiet compared to the rest of the people around her, and I-Pin isn't sure whether she likes the cat mask on her face. It's too dark and mysterious. When she talks, her voice is too _blank_ to even _sound_ boring.

Maybe she lost her feelings a long time ago, like I-Pin would've if Master hadn't been there.

But Master is happy around her. She doesn't really get it, but she sees Tianshi sit down next to him on the sofa and turn her head towards Gokudera-kun so that he bares his teeth at her, while Master looks at both of them like he's amused and impatient at the same time. And when Master introduces them to each other, Tianshi isn't hostile and I-Pin catches the little piece of gentleness that she hears.

As her family introduces themselves when Reborn orders them to, I-Pin sits next to Master and notices how Tianshi kind of sinks into the cushions and makes herself seem very small, but also nice and relaxed. I-Pin tries to do the same, but fails when Lambo says something rude and she jumps up to make him apologize.

"Why are you wearing a mask, anyway?" Gokudera is currently saying. "It's too suspicious! Who's kid are you supposed to be?"

Sometimes, her family can be a little impolite.

Luckily, there are people who can balance them out. Tsuna tries to get Gokudera to calm down, while Yamamoto sort of tries but ends up making it worse. Tsuna's mom, who came downstairs a few minutes ago, just smiles delightfully at the liveliness.

"How long are you staying?" Reborn asks eventually.

Master frowns a little. "I haven't given it much thought, to be honest. We've only just arrived, so we are still unsure of our lodgings."

Mama clasps her hands together. "Would you like to stay with us?" she asks, beaming.

As Master looks over in disbelief and Tianshi folds her legs into a criss-cross position, I-Pin perks up hopefully. If everyone agrees, including Tsuna, then maybe she can see Master every day and they can eat breakfast and lunch and dinner together and have fun together, just like they did before. She misses that. She misses _so many things._

Master shakes his head. "We would not want to impose. After all, I - "

"Oh, don't be silly!" Mama exclaims. Even though she's just interrupted Master, I-Pin gets the sudden urge to hug the older woman. She's always so kind and caring. "Any friend of Reborn-kun and I-Pin is always welcome! We could always use some more company to liven up the house."

"_The house is lively enough already_," Gokudera mutters, but he doesn't say anything else. He didn't complain too much about she, Lambo, and Bianchi living here either, although he still does complain about the poison cooking and Lambo's stupidity sometimes. Maybe, she thinks, it's because he doesn't think he has the right to choose who gets to live in a house that isn't owned by him. Gokudera can be respectful that way.

Master still looks like he wants to refuse. It makes I-Pin want to shrivel.

"Fon," Tianshi pipes up. "Are you a leech?"

The noise stalls around them as some of the louder people shut their mouths to look at her, clearly baffled. Master is the least surprised, though, or maybe he just recovers the fastest.

He tilts her head. The action makes him look strange, more of a child that he is and not the grown-up I-Pin usually sees. "...Leech, as in _Hirudinea?"_

She huffs through her mask. "Leech, as in freeloader."

"Well, in that case - no, I don't like to think so." Master quirks an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"

"It is just an idea," she begins, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. "But, if you want, we can always help Sawada-san with chores, or do other things that will be good for other people, so that we will not be living here and eating all of the food for free. That way, you and I-Pin can live in the same house, like you want. And I know that is what both of you want. It is very apparent." She tilts her head, mimicking Master. "Unless you or anyone else is opposed to this idea?"

The thoughtful silence that follows is broken by Mama's cheerful voice. "That would be wonderful! I'm afraid we don't have any rooms left, though, so some of you," and she directs the 'you' towards Tsuna and the rest of the people living in the house. "Might have to share."

"It is fine," Tianshi says. The cat face props its chin up on the pillow. "The couch is free."

"And Fon can stay with I-Pin," Reborn says. I-Pin sends both of the babies a sunny look, which Master returns and the hitman sees but doesn't reply to.

Tsuna rubs the back of his head. "W-well, it's really sudden, but I guess this is fine..." He looks flustered, like he did when I-Pin decided to stay with him, since it probably seems like the house is being filled up by dozens of people in a matter of _days_. It's kind of true, actually.

Master just smiles. "Thank you, then, for putting up with us."

The cat tilts her head back to look out the window. The weather is very nice today, a part of I-Pin notices.

The rest of her is too busy being happy to pay very much attention.

* * *

Reborn is an infant with swirling sideburns and jet-black hair - the same color as his eyes - mostly covered with an orange-banded hat and a flat chameleon who cannot quite seem to tear its eyes away from her own.

She feels like throwing up, over and over and _over_ again.

But if she had such little control that it would not be able to keep her from hurling over the smallest, simplest things (like the pacifier around his neck that smells like sunlight), Tianshi would have thrown up her own _organs_ a long time ago.

Her heart, she thinks, would be first.

(it is _burning_)


	4. Chapter IV

**Warning(s):** AU, OC-centric, violence, language, (and will forever be) GEN

**Alternate Summary:** When the forgotten girl takes her first step into a new world and finds nothing and no-one but strange things and strangers, she refuses to lose hope. The power of the Tri-ni-set is beyond measure, after all. And exactly that is proven when she comes across Fon, the calm before the storm, a child with a pacifier dangling around his neck - a pacifier that she has never seen before in her life but still, somehow, recognizes. She figures that, if she tails the wind for a while, it might carry her to the sky - where she might finally, finally receive some answers that have long been overdue.

**Author's Note:** Wow, why are all of the original characters of KHR so OOC and why is all of the logic skewed. I fail so hard. Sorry this chapter took really long, by the way - end of school is coming up, as are tests and personal projects and another story for fanfiction I wanna get around to.

I've probably put in, like, around 20,000 words for this story so far. And here I thought I wouldn't spend a lot of time on this. ;-; Although I guess it's okay because I don't actually edit my chapters a lot so it still turns out bad when I look it over, like, the next day.

Anyway, reviews, follows, and favorites are all appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_.

* * *

It takes a week for them to get settled in.

Actually, it takes more than a week for Fon, but Tianshi seems to blend with the chaotic atmosphere just fine. If anything, it's Tsuna's family that has to struggle a bit in order to accommodate the new residents.

On the first day, Tsuna awakens to a barrage of deadly gunfire that has him shrieking and tumbling face-first onto the floor, and later down the stairs to eat breakfast and go educate himself - something he still dearly needs to do, in the world's greatest hitman's modest opinion. He notes, however, that Tianshi isn't the slightest bit fazed by his student's unnatural entrance, and is already awake and watching the street through the window from her bed-couch.

Nor is she frightened by the grenades that accidentally drop like stones from Lambo's hair as he struggles to find his lollipop in the mass of black locks. Luckily, they don't go off, which _has_ to be a first.

In contrast to what he had predicted, Tianshi and Lambo get along fairly well. The idiot cow is reeled in when the girl returns after a walk with Fon and I-Pin, a large bag of candy in hand - filled to the brim with assortments of sweets only native to Japan, which she consents to share with him. She repeats the routine of bringing food home for the next couple of days, in which the Bovino swiftly becomes eager to greet her after her explorations around town.

It's not much of a friendship and more of an advantage for the cow, but Tianshi likes to ruffle his hair when she steps through the front door and Lambo doesn't mind, even if the gesture humbles him somewhat.

Then again, maybe Lambo is too stupid to realize such a thing. Reborn thinks it's a likely possibility.

Over the next several days, Fon and Tianshi are often absorbed into the discord that surrounds them, whether they desire it or not. Usually, Fon becomes part of whatever pandemonium has sprung up when his student is a part of it, too, and Tianshi soon follows because she's a little more attached to Fon than with I-Pin.

They're getting there, though. I-Pin, at least, is eager to befriend the masked girl, who is a dear friend of her master. Tianshi's own emotions are difficult to read, even for him, but she always agrees when the young assassin offers to take her on a tour of a different part of Namimori.

Either way, it's very much like a chain - Fon, then I-Pin, and then Tianshi. Reborn's interest spikes when Fon indulges in more of the children's games than he usually would, and is slightly more tolerant and slightly more amused at the overall madness that contradicts his own alliance with tranquility.

On the second day, when Tianshi comes back to the house for dinner instead of eating outside, Fon takes one look at the familiar mask, beastly and black-eyed, making its way onto the porch, and tells Mama that one more person will be joining them today, but she will not have to make any more steak. It turns out that Tianshi is a vegetarian.

As she opens the door and makes her way to an empty seat at the dining table, Tsuna and Gokudera turn to her with identical expressions of confusion. "You're eating here?" the Storm Guardian asks.

"Fon tells me that Sawada-san is making salad today," she replies, easing herself into the seat next to Yamamoto.

Mama bustles in at the mention of her name, apron steaming with a delightful aroma. "Oh, there's no reason to be so formal! Just Nana is fine, or Mama, if you prefer." She offers a sunny smile. "You should have told me you were a vegetarian sooner! I could have made a few more vegetable dishes!"

Tianshi just shakes her head. "You do not have to trouble yourself just for me, Nana-san."

Giggling, the older woman leans forward to pat her bun with her oven mitt. "I suppose 'Nana-san' will do for now. And trust me, it's not problem at all!"

As she disappears and re-enters with a multitude of dishes in hand, Ryohei energetically compliments the menu and Lambo squeals in delight. Everyone else murmurs their gratitude and appreciation as they pass the plates down the table, Yamamoto in particular rising to assist Nana in balancing all of the dishes like the gentleman he can be.

Gokudera and Tsuna, on the other hand, completely disregard the food in favor of leaning closer to their left, staring at Tianshi with wide eyes as if she's some sort of interesting alien specimen. Reborn almost kicks his student in the head for being disrespectful, but then notices the devious smirk spreading across Fon's face and the attentive look Yamamoto suddenly bears.

He doesn't think he's ever seen anything so _evil_ in the Storm Arcobaleno's eyes before.

Bianchi, Ryohei, Lambo, and Nana are the only people focused on digging into the food in front of them. Bianchi cuts into her slice of steak - even _she_ isn't insane enough to enjoy her own cooking - with deliberately delicate strokes, seemingly uninterested in the sudden gravity of the moment spreading across the table.

Meanwhile, Tianshi picks up a spoon and gathers some asparagus.

She stabs at one with her fork and holds it up, admiring the light seasoning that dapples the stem and the rich sauce dripping from the end of the shoot.

Two seats away, Gokudera makes a sound that resembles a choke. Fon's smirk widens, as does Reborn's as he reclines in his chair to observe what seems to be the most exciting event of the day.

After a tense silence, the little girl brings the leafy vegetable closer to her mask. She lifts the tiger from her face, just a fraction, but enough for her to slip the fork piercing the centimeter-wide legume into the small space between the plastic and her mouth.

Unfortunately, the fraction of space is too small for anyone, even Reborn, to catch a glimpse of her facial features without supernatural eyesight.

Tianshi chews, and the tiger turns a little to face all of them. "It is very good."

"You," Gokudera hisses indignantly from his precarious position, practically bowed over the tabletop. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"

Behind the bomber, Tsuna plants his face into his plate - thankfully empty - out of sheer exasperation. I-Pin blinks in the adjacent seat, while Yamamoto just leans back and laughs into the air.

His own smirk pulls tightly across his cheeks as Fon chuckles merrily, jabbing his fork at Tianshi from directly across the table. "Don't smile," he says, trying to sound stern but failing as hints of humor flutter in his voice. "You're torturing them, you know. It's rather impudent."

"Impudence is a characterization of the youthful, my elder," Tianshi says, completely blank-voiced as she stabs at a piece of fish.

Later, after the dishes are washed and Reborn is lying lazily in his hammock, surveying the velvet night sweeping across the sky and somewhat lost in his thoughts, he goes over Fon's words in his head once more - and realizes that, with her mask, Fon shouldn't have been able to see if Tianshi had smiled or not.

But Tianshi hadn't contradicted him. Which means that Fon had just taken a shot in the dark and happened to be correct, or the martial artist simply knew the girl so well that he had developed a sixth sense when it came to predicting her facial expressions.

He finds it difficult to believe in the latter. But if that _is _true, then Reborn can allow himself to relax a little more in Tianshi's presence. Not completely, since she has yet to do anything to earn his trust, but Fon has always had good judgement when it comes to people's characters.

After watching Tianshi maintain her composure during every possible situation that Tsuna, his guardians, and Reborn himself bring about, he receives the information about her that he sought from several of his best connections.

He's not paranoid. He's the greatest hitman in the world. It's not like he knows the birthplace, age, and appearance of every person he's ever met in his life - but it comes pretty damn close. Reborn makes it a habit to at least prepare himself before meeting anybody at all, so he isn't unprepared for any sort of anonymity.

But the information relayed back contains nearly nothing, except for the simple statement that his contacts didn't - couldn't - find a single thing.

That's exceedingly rare, if not impossible. Reborn's calls are answered by the best information brokers in the world, with the exception of Viper - whom he doesn't even bother to work with, seeing as the Mist Arcobaleno would charge a ridiculous amount that he, no matter how rich he is, does not wish to offer in return for a search on only _one_ person.

It turns out that he might need Viper's help after all. Unfortunately, his current whereabouts are unknown - or rather, inhibited from access.

Tianshi has no birth certificate, no physical description, and basically, nothing for him to work with.

The second day is probably when his curiosity begins to take control.

* * *

On the third day, Tsuna's friends come over for their daily homework routine.

"...What're you doing here?" Gokudera asks hotly as Tianshi enters the room, sporting an alligator mask and a stack of lead-heavy books in her arms. Ever since Jyuudaime passingly mentioned that the new girl was 'creepy', he immediately (agreed and) took to suspicion.

She tilts her head, motioning to the book at the top of the leaning tower (of Piza. Oh, wait - ). "Reorganizing."

"She's only helping out with chores." Yamamoto pipes up from his left. "You be a little more friendly, Gokudera-kun." And then the baseball-freak has the nerve to wink.

"Shut up, baseball-freak! Don't tell me what to do!"

"Tsuna," Tianshi says, somehow managing to balance all of the books into one of her hands and a single leather-bound novel in the other. She hands the leather one to Jyuudaime. "Is this yours or Sawada-san's?"

"U-um..." He cranes his neck to peer at the cover, rubbing his nose at the thick dust no doubt accompanying the smell of aged paper. "I...I think that's my mom's? I-It's a pretty old book, after all..." A sheepish head-scratch follows.

Gokudera also catches a glimpse of the title. Thousand Cranes in fine gold flashes back at him.

Tianshi just nods and sets all of the books down, very careful onto the covers of his bed. The mattress groans and sinks in protest, but - surprisingly - none of the books fall. "When you have time," she says. "Could you sort these out and choose which ones you want to keep? Fon and I are cleaning out the bookshelf and yours could be filled, if you so wished."

Jyuudaime immediately blushes and waves his hands in a flustered motion; the bomber immediately grits his teeth at the person who's the cause of the embarrassment. "N-no, it's fine, really," Jyuudaime says haltingly, then. "You see, I. Um. Well, I don't really read a lot, so..."

For a long moment that lasts a year, the younger girl looks at him through the eye-holes of her mask.

"What?" Gokudera finally snaps.

"You see," she says. "I always thought of you as a person who would enjoy the immersion of books and fantasies."

Tsuna shrugs a little. "Um, no. Not really. I mean, um, I guess I used to, and then it just got...boring?"

At the same time, a flare of indignity rushes through the Storm Guardian that lifts him to his feet, a finger pointed accusingly at the creeper of a girl. "What would you know about Jyuudaime, anyway?" he growls. "You only met him three days ago!"

She tilts her head and says, "I know - he reminds me of somebody that I used to know. However, it is improper of me to compare an individual so easily with another."

Then, she bows her head a little. "I am sorry, Tsuna, for thinking so."

_What the hell she's like a servant or a maid or a robot seriously_, he thinks as Yamamoto grins and scratches his head in the background and Jyuudaime immediately accepts the apology; after all, his boss is merciful and kind to everyone no matter what heinous crimes they have committed.

* * *

On the fourth day, Tianshi picks up the remote for the television.

She does not put it down for the next five hours.

"Well," Fon says, pitching his voice over the rambunctious sounds of animated creatures launching themselves at each other across the screen, biting into the other's flesh without a drop of blood spilled (no sense of realism there). The scene quickly changes to the face of a cartoon figure, eyes narrowed with determination as he shouts commands across the arena. "This can't be healthy, can it?"

"I am not sure if you mean that to be a rhetorical question." She shifts slightly on her stomach. Earlier, the girl had wandered to each room and collected nearly all comfortable surfaces - pillows, blankets, the like - to use as materials for her fort in the living room. Only her mask pokes out from the collection of soft fabrics, held captive by the current display of color transmitted through the screen.

Now, he has to crane his head higher to see the face of the yellow rat, buried at the top of the fortress (the height of the thing is actually quite impressive). "Please don't tell me you're planning on staying up there for the rest of the afternoon."

"Nonsense. I am sure that this 'marathon' will last until midnight. Why would I retire so early?"

He actually face-palms. "You see, Tianshi," the Arcobaleno says dryly. "Watching TV for too long can cause a deterioration in eyesight and muscular mass, as well as relationships in your social life. Abusing its functions can prove to be quite harmful."

She pauses, then digs her arms out of the sheets to turn the TV off. "You did not think to mention this sooner?"

Fon's eyebrows elevate to the ceiling. "I wasn't being serious. Not wholly, anyway."

Tianshi stares at him.

He sighs and mercilessly incinerates the urge to throw up his hands, since _oh, that's right, she takes everything seriously because she doesn't know the difference between truth and sarcasm even though she's a master at sarcasm herself, and I don't quite get how that works but then again she never really made much sense from the beginning._

"Besides," she continues, collapsing the walls of her fort as she pulls herself up. "I do not have a social life."

"Not exactly," he says. "There's me, I-Pin, and...Tsuna's family, I suppose."

Her statement does border _some_ truth, however. From what he's gathered, she's gone to some sort of public school before but hasn't attended since (not that she really needs to with her level of intelligence), and thus has no school friends to speak of. She has no family members to look out for her - if any do exist - and being nomadic makes it difficult for both of them to get to know anybody deeply, as they always depart from the area after a short while. Luckily, before the curse of the Arcobaleno was activated, Fon had gained a multitude of allies and useful connections with other people (which had led to useful connections with those people's children, which had led to useful connections with those people's useful connections, and so on).

"By the way," he adds as Tianshi finally emerges, lazily stretching out her limbs after nearly a quarter of the day spent in a cocoon. "Nana just asked me if we could wash the laundry after dinner."

She yawns and folds her arms above her head, trembling from the strain. "Mm...okay." Abruptly, the yellow rat swivels to look around the room. "Where is everyone else?"

"Reborn is training with Tsuna, and his friends are occupied with after-school activities. Nana is shopping for groceries, Bianchi is in her room, and I-Pin and Lambo are playing a game outside with Lichi," he lists off. "Dinner will be prepared in about an hour or so."

With one final stretch that releases seismic waves through her skin, Tianshi straightens up and pads over to the kitchen. "Oh," she says offhandedly. "It slipped my mind. The television is a menacing thing, I can see, now that I am free from its addiction."

Fon lets out an ungainly snort and forces himself not to look around for Reborn or I-Pin. He has a character (sanity) to uphold.

"Can I discuss something with you before then?" he asks, leaping onto the kitchen counter to face her.

She raises an eyebrow as she fishes from the cupboard and moves toward the sink. "Such as?"

"The duration of our stay here," Fon states, smiling lightly - although, inside, he is mildly surprised by the amount of reluctance he holds in bringing up the subject. "How long would you prefer?"

"It has been four days already," Tianshi says, lips twitching (strange; it isn't like her to say something so obvious). She sips her cup of tap water and walks out of the kitchen and to the back door, breathing and footsteps silent (as always). The infant quickly latches onto her shoulder. "I have no objection to anything. How long can you stay here?"

Fon seats himself comfortably between her neck and her shoulder bone (the trapezius muscle, was it? it's not like he ever _aims_ for the spot when he's trying to kill someone). "A few months, at most. Maybe four or five. Although I'm wondering if you would have any objection to that."

They reach the back door; she slides the screen open and steps into the breeze, whipping her bangs into his face. The outside has a pleasant, particular glow that lights up the grass into emerald and sets the sky ablaze in sapphire. I-Pin and Lambo are at the far side of the backyard, their faces dappled in the shadow of the bushes as his apprentice fetches an inflatable ball from next to the fence and her friend cackles from afar. Lichi chirps from his perch on the fence.

With an inaudible sigh that Fon feels more than hears, Tianshi lowers herself onto the sun-warmed porch, feet curling in a bed of grass. The two children - or rather, the children with the appropriate age mentality (for once) - have yet to notice their presence (although, one day, I-Pin will be experienced enough to feel even the Mist Arcobaleno's presence). "If you like it here," she murmurs. "Then stay awhile. Do what you wish."

He shrugs a little and leans back, blinded by the sky's brilliance. "Do _you_ like it here?"

The girl's figure stills; her voice is somewhat distant, almost absentminded (or, it would be, but an absentminded Tianshi just isn't possible). "...I find it welcoming," she reveals after a while. "And bright. Like today. It is never dark here."

Something - something like personal intuition - tells him that she isn't quite finished. He waits.

"Four months," Tianshi says, then. "We will leave in four months. Is that too long?"

In the corner of his eye, Lambo screeches and falls to the ground as Lichi pounces on him, and I-Pin runs over to either help Lichi pound the boy into the ground or assist Lambo in defending himself (probably the former) - and the one thing Fon notices, above all, is her smile.

"No." He glances at her. "Not too long."

Even though Tianshi always makes sure that they don't stay in one place for more than half the year, Fon never told her why he _doesn't like_ to stay in one place. Yet, somehow, she seems to know his reasons anyway. It lightens his guilt a bit; after all, he already told - as Colonello would say - a 'half-assed' answer to I-Pin that was meant to sound like it made perfectly rational, logical _sense_ when, in reality, it held no substance whatsoever.

But Tianshi seems to know. Tianshi seems to know everything.

(all the more reason to (fear) (hate) (cherish) (protect) her)

* * *

On the fifth day, the black-eyed infant follows her.

Coincidentally, it is also the day she decides to visit the school that Tsuna and his friends attend. Namimori Middle School, the Sky once said as he packed his bags in a rush and flew out the door with untied shoes that he would have tripped on if Reborn had not been there to shoot at the ground in front of him first, making him trip for an entirely different reason.

So, with a faint, translucent interest that is not emphasized nor ignored, she leaves Fon to setting up the sprinklers (o', the guilt that plagues her) in the front yard and heads down the sidewalk, following the cream brick walls. Japanese neighborhoods feel like labyrinths sometimes.

(_Dammit, I told you to go _left.

_Oh, don't give me that - I _did_ go left, but now there's a dead end in front of my quill and it happens to be _very_ unattractive - _

_Are you sure? Wait - _

_What._

_I meant _my_ left._

_...You absolute asshat - okay, that's it, you're just no help at all - _

_Oh, go fuck yourself if you think you're so high and mighty -_

_Shut up! Hey, come on, _you_ help me out instead! You're good at these maze games, right? How do I solve this one?_)

Eventually, she winds up in front of the pale yellow building that looks more like a prison than a building for educational purposes. Despite that, she can see the green railings lining the rooftop that look to provide a promising view.

So, with nonchalant boredom (because it is not fun to climb things unless you're at the very top already), Tianshi scales the beige (it _is_ beige, is it not? some kind of color she doesn't know what to call) panels of the school's exterior by hoisting herself up the little ledges and indents. She is careful to avoid blocking the windows, but that does not stop her from peering inward.

The chalkboards and the orderly desks, all lined up in rows and burdened with green chairs, are _strange._

She is not sure if a child learning with his peers would allow for better academic results, but the overall cleanness and harmony of the classroom is also pleasant. Unique, but pleasant.

Eventually, she nears the top of the building, and - in the middle of reaching for the edge of the rooftop - glances at the large clock in the middle of the wall.

Five minutes.

A flash of displeasure. Frankly, five minutes to climb such a minuscule building is depressing. She may need to practice.

(_It might be a good idea for you to learn how to climb. Since you're...well...since you have a condition, your muscles aren't strong enough for you to leap as far as we can from branch to branch, or as high. If you learn how to climb, you could get rid of that disadvantage. Or maybe you could try experimenting with your flames? Or something?_

_Or I could, let us say, tear down all of the trees._

_Must you, really? Have you no heart for the dear birds that nest in the foliage? _Ow_ - _)

Regardless, Tianshi is not disappointed - the view from the top is almost _liberating_. Or at least it would be, if the sky was not clouded with murky white and grey that seems to choke the color out of the world.

She is not fond of cloudy days.

Nor is she fond of spies, eavesdroppers, and hunters. She has played the role of all three, out of necessity, but that does not mean she has to enjoy such work.

Right now, she is being watched - and if she were of any other character, she would catch her stalker and snap his neck, or perhaps his legs, or perhaps his arms. Then, she would torture the poor man until he bursts, and deliver a selective organ to his sender.

The King never liked doing things that way, though, and most of the others thought the same.

(Except the few of them who enjoyed seeing all the gore and torment of their subjugated victims. That changed, of course, when all the despair of the world came crashing down upon them, and they lost their little minds one by one.)

"Good morning, Reborn, Leon," she calls out instead, dangling her legs over the rail.

A flash of glim flickers across her senses, and her eyes swivel around to meet the baby's black, darkened to night in the shadow. For someone who dances with the shining Sun, Reborn's presence is difficult to seek out, even for her.

"Ciaossu, Tianshi." He reaches up a small, stubbed hand to tilt (more like adjust) his fedora. His chameleon is watching her with wide, unblinking eyes that seem to narrow slightly with an unfamiliar emotion. "What are you doing up here?"

Tianshi gestures skyward. "Watching the wind. It is not a nice day for the weather, though." She tilts her head. "Is there something you needed?"

After all, Reborn strikes her as a person who prefers business and profession. Possibly.

(_Acting? Seriously?_

_Precisely! It's all about the act. The stuttering fool, or the eloquent presenter of a grand idea that will chip a few blocks off those conceited bastards' sky-seats - which sounds more appealing to you? Not that hard to choose, is it?_

_Yes, but really...acting? Is it all just an act to you?_

_A marvelous play, my friend! It takes a genius to rule the world of business and conduct, especially with all those fools prancing about like they know what it's like to have dirtied their hands._)

"Not really," he says, leaping up next to her. The chain links do not rattle; she admits to a small amount of admiration for the feat. "How did you know I was here?"

She catches the snake-like glance in her direction and refuses to look down at his pacifier, even though the mask hides her away. A soft sigh (she does not intend) drops like a pebble from her lips and quakes the earth with minute vibrations. "I can feel you," she says, then. "Just as I can feel I-Pin or Fon, even when they should make not a sound. But you know this well, yes?"

Reborn smirks. "There's no specific name for it. Just fighter's intuition, I suppose. Not many people can sense me, though - you must be experienced."

Tianshi feels a hint of a smile bubble in her chest, not quite at her lips but close. It is odd - she can already tell that he has the potential for _appalling_ audacity, and yet she is strangely amused by his gall. "Quite a bit," she agrees. "There is a reason why Fon shares his missions with me."

The infant's voice colors with the first shade of disbelief. "So it's true? He lets you follow him?"

"Yes. He does not tell his Triad, though." Tianshi's lips quirk at the remembrance. "He did not like it at first, but I wanted to see him safe - and I wanted to see how he fought, too. He fares well."

"'Fares well'?" Reborn asks - skeptically, but the wry humor still lies. "Fon is said to be the strongest martial artist from the underground in Asia, if not the world." A hint of _something_ seeps into his voice - a _thing_, like a _creature_ - that has her eyeing him with sudden speculation. "He probably destroys all of his targets in a heartbeat. Did he tell you why he still sticks around with his Triad?"

"Loyalty to the boss," Tianshi says softly. (But the generations disintegrate over time. Such loyalty is to be valued, but not if it nips the bud of one's growth. Is that not so?) "Anyway, his skills in battle are not without fault - and, martial artist he may be, he is still an assassin and prone to danger. There is a reason why he does not claim your title."

Reborn scoffs lightly and says nothing. Tianshi is not fooled - she sees the calculations flit across his eyes like quicksilver. Reasons, evidence, analysis, categorization and characterization - of her, specifically. (The best hitman, indeed.)

"Why do you have a chameleon?" she asks, breaking the muted pause that has stretched between them when she meets the gaze of the chameleon once more.

It - he - lowers his head but refuses to avert eyes.

(_You asked me before...before the Massacre, i-if I knew where willpower made it's home._

_I remember._

_And...and I said the battlefield, didn't I? I said war._

_Conflict, you thought. 'Twas a natural assumption._

_And you said it was wrong._

_Yes._

_I...I only - _

_Would you like to know the answer?_)

"Leon is a shape-shifter," Reborn says. She raises an eyebrow that he probably cannot see.

To demonstrate, he reaches up to his animal companion, who promptly melts and transforms into a gun; a green barrel and muzzle, otherwise a burnished black that harshly shoots the sunlight into her eyes.

Squinting, she ducks her head a little; Reborn notices as well and shifts his gun into a more bearable position. (She does not see the puzzled frown that briefly churns his features.)

"...I did not think you were being serious." Tianshi does not bother to keep the laughter out of her words. "Does Leon want to shoot me? Or can he transform into other things?"

"Usually, I use him as a gun," Reborn says vaguely. His gaze darkens as he stares down at Leon's new form, and if she did not know any better, she would think that he is bothered by the sight of a weapon in his hands. (wrong) "Or other things, which are mainly for Tsuna."

She hums and leans back. "Is there a limit to what he can do?"

The hitman's brow furrows as he opens his mouth to reply.

A second later, both of them turn to the door as it swings open.

"Trespassers on school grounds will be bitten to death."

"Hibari." Reborn faces the young man - ebony hair, high cheekbones and pale skin like reflecting glass. He has a fair build, muscles fitted easily beneath the skin and cloth that makes him look harmless - but Tianshi knows better.

She tilts her head back, arms relaxed at her sides and feet swinging lazily in the open wind. Getting into a fighting position will take as much time as dying to a dagger at the throat - and besides, she does not have much of a style to begin with. Reborn is also amicable enough, not bothering to raise his gun - Leon - to level it at the intruder of their conversation.

Even so, it never hurts to prepare. 'Hibari' is holding a pair of metal weapons in his hands; close combat, she supposes, judging from the strength arcing through his arms in particular as he twirls the sticks in his hands like a show of knives. They are hardly threatening to her, but Tianshi observes the fluid motion of his steps as he walks forward to meet them, and realizes that_ many things have changed since the time when you could crack the skulls of ten men without any worthy opposition_.

He is so close to her level (in hand-to-hand combat, obviously - not her fire, no, _nobody_ can match her fire) that she can almost taste his power. It is terrifying.

_Breathtaking._

"Baby," Hibari says. His tonfas dip, but not by much. "What business do you have here?"

Reborn tugs on the rim of his fedora, calling Leon back to his station. The chameleon leaps up with his back turned towards her and hides behind the other side of the crown. "Tianshi wanted to go and see what Tsuna's school is like, so she came up here. She's new to Namimori, so she doesn't know the rules about loitering on school grounds."

"It will not happen again," Tianshi says, hoping to placate the man. She then adds, as a sort of afterthought (since Hibari does not seem like one who would find offense in skipping pleasantries), "It is nice to meet you, Hibari-san."

He grunts, lowering his tonfas fully. Reborn must have a good reputation to harness respect from all sorts of characters. "See that it doesn't," he says sharply (like ice). "If you're just about done here, leave."

(He would probably escort them out anyway regardless of whether or not they are 'done' yet.)

Tianshi grabs hold of the rail and lifts her body up, pulling the balls of her bare feet beneath her so that they balance on the painted metal.

"What are you doing?" Reborn asks, watching carefully. Hibari narrows his eyes.

"Leaving," she replies. And then, she laughs (her company does not), because _surely Reborn must know Fon's method of exiting the stage, yes?_

Her toes free themselves from the railing, and the girl jumps off the top of the school.

* * *

On the sixth day, the living room clears out. Mostly.

"Tianshi jumped off the rooftop of Namimori Middle yesterday," Reborn says without ceremony as he hops onto the large couch cushions next to Fon.

Fon can't help it - he bursts into quiet, genuine, maniacal laughter (she must be a bad influence on him) that his old friend patiently endures.

As the chuckles finally come to a close, he manages to say (something along the lines of), "She descends magnificently, doesn't she? Like the feather of a bird."

Reborn looks at him.

"I did not instruct her, to be honest," he admits, raising his hands in an innocent gesture. "She can jump from much higher. But other than that, she doesn't have much control over her flames in manipulating air - she said she reached her limit when she jumped off the World Trade Center Tower in Beijing."

"The World Trade Center Tower in Beijing," Reborn echoes. "And you say that she 'doesn't have much control over her flames in manipulating air'. She's almost as good as _you_."

He offers a shrug, thoroughly amused by the flatness of the hitman's tone. "It is not something she focuses on. Her real forte is her destructive flame - it's something you have to see in combat."

Reborn nods, taking a sip of his randomly-produced espresso that puffs up steam into his face. Fon gets the feeling that the hitman has many other questions to ask (when does he not?) but, unlike Tianshi, he's willing to wait until they are readily able to be spoken. Instead, he glances at the clock (noon) and asks, "Did your sources ever find anything out about her?"

Reborn's expression is unreadable. It's an even bet - maybe the other Arcobaleno will answer the question, maybe he won't. Fon is fine with either.

"You've changed," the Sun says, then, as he drains the last of the coffee.

"How so?"

"Normally, even if you knew I investigated her files, you wouldn't bring it up unless you thought I was wrong to try and get information on her. So," the hitman cocks his head a little. "You've changed."

"For the better, I hope," Fon keeps his voice light (not that he has to try _not to_, but sometimes he has to put a little extra lightness in your voice to make it_ fitting_). "Did you find anything?"

Reborn's face is completely blank, like a clean sheet of untouched paper. "Those 'files' I mentioned earlier are nonexistent."

Fon chuckles again, his chest tight with wild merriment. "Don't be so discouraged," he says assuredly to the fellow infant. "I tried poking through her history as well, even though she told me that she literally _doesn't exist_ according to law, sight, and mind. I didn't search as extensively as you may have, but I still came up with nothing."

"It seems like the entire mafia doesn't know who she is." Reborn pauses, no doubt quickly reviewing his thoughts. "Nobody can just erase themselves from the mafia, no matter how little their presence was."

A thoughtful frown mars his features and sobers him for a moment. "She told me before that she was never related with the mafia."

"But she knows how to fight," Reborn counters. "And she can wield powerful flames. Sky flames are the only weapons that are restricted to people affiliated with the underground."

A sigh escapes him as he mulls over the information. "...Tianshi wouldn't lie. She really isn't with the mafia, and never has been. I suppose I could ask her for more of her background, though, if you're so curious."

The dark eyes blink a little (it's more of a quick shuttering, really). "She wouldn't mind?"

"It depends on what she's willing to reveal." Fon tugs at the hems of his pants, fingers running over the ragged seams of silk and fiddling with worn fabric. "She can be quite fickle sometimes."

Reborn snorts, but subsides quickly. "And you'll be willing to tell me what she says? Why?"

The Storm Arcobaleno just chuckles, his mirth fading into a simmering heat at his throat. "Because I'm not overly fond of debts, perhaps - even when they are in my favor."

The hitman smirks, but the soft upward curl that lifts his infantile cheeks tell Fon that this is one of those rare, truthful moments when his old friend is amused by something other than the suffering of his student.

(when he leaps away to assist Nana in cooking breakfast, the dropping of the smile and the troubled stare that Reborn directs at Leon is unnoticed by everyone except the chameleon)

(and the chameleon reveals _nothing_)

* * *

On the seventh day, I-Pin looks up at the mask of the girl who gently weaves the stems of buttercups into her hair that they had collected in the afternoon grasses next to the sidewalk on their way home.

"Can I call you _Jiejie_?"

Tianshi looks down, twirling the golden petals.

"Okay," she says after thinking about it. "But then I will call you _Meimei_."

"Okay!" I-Pin chirps.

She looks back out the window again and wonders if Jiejie has ever braided Fon's hair, too.


End file.
